Contributors
D.E.A. David E. Aune, Professor of Religion, Saint Xavier College, Chicago
j.b. Jan Bergman, Professor of the History of Religions, University of
Uppsala
h.d.b. Hans Dieter Betz, Professor of New Testament, The Divinity School,
University of Chicago
w.B. Walter Burkert, Professor of Classical Philology, University of Zurich
j.m.d. John M. Dillon, Professor of Classics, Trinity College, Dublin
w.c.G. William C. Grese, Professor of Religion, Olivet College, Olivet,
Michigan
j.p.h. Jackson P. Hershbell, Professor of Classics, University of Minnesota
r.f.h. Ronald E Hock, Professor of Religion, University of Southern
California
j.h.j. Janet H. Johnson, Professor of Egyptology, The Oriental Institute,
University of Chicago
r.d.k. Roy D. Kotansky, Research Specialist, The Divinity School, Univer-
sity of Chicago
h.m. Hubert Martin, Jr., Professor of Classics, University of Kentucky
m.w.m. Marvin W. Meyer, Professor of Religion, Chapman College, Orange,
California
e.n.o. Edward N. O’Neil, Professor of Classics, University of Southern
California
R.K.R. Robert K. Ritner, Lecturer in Egyptology, The Oriental Institute,
University of Chicago
j.s. John Scarborough, Professor of History, University of Kentucky
m.s. Morton Smith, Professor of Ancient History, Columbia University
INCLUDING THE DEMOTIC SPELLS
Edited by
HANS DIETER BETZ
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
Chicago &. London
Hans Dieter Betz
is profcsssor of New Testament and
chairman of the Department of New Testament
and Early Christian Literature at
the University of Chicago.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, CHICAGO 60637
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, LTD., LONDON
© 1986 by The Uni versity of Chicago
Ail rights reserved. Published 1986
Printed in the United States of America
95 94 93 92 91 90 89 88 87 86 54321
This project has been supported by the National Endowment
for the Humanities, a federal agency which supports the
study of such fields as history, philosophy, literature,
and languages.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG I N G - 1 N - PUB LI CAT I O N DATA
Main entry' under title:
The Greek magical papyri in translation, including the
Demotic spells.
Translation of Greek, Demotic, and Coptic texts
found in: Papyri graecae magicae, 2nd ed., with
translations of fifty additional texts.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Magic, Greek. 2. Manuscripts, Greek (Papyri)
I. Betz, Hans Dieter. II. Papyri graecae magicae.
English. 1985.
BF1622.G8G74 1986 133.4'3'0938 85-1137
ISBN 0-226-04444-0
Shall we write about the things not to be spoken of?
Shall we divulge the things not to be divulged?
Shall we pronounce the things not to be pronounced?
Julian, Hymn to the Mother of the Gods
Contents
Preface ix
Table of Spells xi
List of Papyri in Preisendanz xxiii
List of New Papyri Not in Preisendanz xxvii
Note on Editions xxix
Explanation of References and Textual Signs xxxi
Abbreviations of Periodicals, Series Titles, and General
Reference Works xxxv
Abbreviations of Major Titles Used in This Volume xxxvii
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri xli
Hans Dieter Betz
Introduction to the Demotic Magical Papyri xlv
Janet H. Johnson
Translations, with Notes 3
Glossary 331
Preface
This volume of translations of the Greek magical papyri has been a long time in the
making. The project began in a planning colloquium at Claremont, California,
May 31 to June 4, 1978. At this meeting, a team of scholars resolved to produce
this translation volume as part of a research project on the Greek magical papyri,
the project as a whole being designed as a contribution to the Corpus Hellenisticum
Novi Testamenti.
The translations turned out to be more difficult and time-consuming than had
been expected. Since it seemed desirable to expand the Preisendanz collection to
include as many newly discovered and newly published magical papyri as possible,
the number of papyri increased from 81 to 131. In this respect, the translation vol-
ume differs from the Preisendanz volumes. It differs also in that while Preisendanz
reproduced only the Greek sections of bilingual Greek-Demotic papyri, this volume
includes the full translations of all bilingual texts.
All translations are based on the Greek, Demotic, and Coptic texts. PGM I—
LXXXI follow the Preisendanz edition, while PGM LXXXII— CXXX and PDM
Supplement follow their critical editions, which are indicated in the notes. Trans-
lators were free to make changes in the texts when they thought it necessary; these
changes are also indicated in the notes. Where earlier translations exist, they have
been consulted, but all the translations included in this volume are new.
Unlike the Preisendanz edition, this new volume does not have an apparatus criti-
cus. Instead, it has notes explaining difficulties in the text and the translation, and
notes alerting readers to important information. It has been necessary to limit these
notes to a degree which many readers may find drastic, but the team decided not to
attempt what could only be a lengthy commentary on the papyri. Instead, they
agreed that other research tools should be developed to encourage and assist further
research on the papyri. The following research tools are presently being prepared:
1. An index of Greek words is being prepared by Professor Edward O’Neil.
2. A subject index based on the English translation is being worked out by
Ms. Marjorie Menaul.
3. A collection of parallels between the magical papyri and early Christian litera-
ture is being prepared by the research team. This part of the project is most directly
related to the task of the Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti , namely, the collection
of parallels from ancient literature to the New Testament and the other Christian
literature up to approximately a. d. 150.
4. A comprehensive bibliography, including editions and investigations of the
magical papyri, is being assembled by Professor David Hellholm.
The present volume would not have come about without the generous support
of institutions and individuals. The National Endowment for the Humanities has
funded the entire venture from the beginning by substantial grants from 1978 to
1983. Without this financial assistance, the project would simply not exist; schol-
X
Preface
arly team projects of this magnitude cannot live on enthusiasm alone. Apart from
the purely financial aspect, the officers of the NEH have helped more than they may
realize by their quiet encouragement and confidence expressed over a number of
years.
A great deal of assistance also came from the institutions where the project was
initiated and where it is now based. These include the Institute for Antiquity and
Christianity at Claremont, where the project was based during the years 1977 and
1978, and the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of
Chicago, where it has been from 1978 to the present. Thanks are especially due to
the officers of these institutions. Professors James M. Robinson and James Brashler
of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity; and Professors Joseph M. Kitagawa,
formerly dean, and Franklin I. Gamwell, currently dean, of the Divinity School of
the University of Chicago, as well as to Martin E. Marty, program coordinator for
the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion of the University of Chicago.
The present project could not have succeeded without the unfailing loyalty and
generosity of the members of the team, both contributors and consultants. Among
these should be named Professors Jan Bergman, Walter Burkert, Franco Maltomini,
and P. J. Sijpesteijn. The research specialists of the project, Professor William C.
Grese (1977-80), and Mr. Roy Kotansky and Ms. Marjorie Menaui (1980-83),
not only helped to carry the burdens of administration and editorship, but made
substantial contributions to the project as well. To all of them sincere thanks
are due.
H. D. Betz
Table of Spells
This list of spells presupposes the divisions in the texts and the identification of
section titles made by the editor. In the Demotic spells, section titles are sometimes
indicated by red lettering (but this is not done consistently). If no tides are given,
this fart is stated (No tide) and a short description of content is added.
Reference Translator Short Title
PGM I
PGM I. 1-42
E.N.O.
PGM I. 42-195
E.N.O.
PGM I. 195-222
E.N.O.
PGM I. 222-31
E.N.O.
PGM I. 232-47
E.N.O.
PGM I. 247-62
E.N.O.
PGM I. 262-347
E.N.O.
PGM II
PGM II. 1-64
J.M.D. / E.N.O.
PGM II. 65-183
J.M.D. / E.N.O.
PGM III
PGM III. 1-164
J.M.D.
PGM III. 165-86
J.M.D.
PGM III. 187-262
J.M.D. / E.N.O.
PGM III. 263-75
W.C.G.
PGM III. 275-81
E.N.O.
PGM III. 282-409
W.C.G. / M.W.M.
PGM III. 410-23
W.C.G.
PGM III. 424-66
W.C.G.
PGM III. 467-78
W.C.G.
PGM III. 479-83
W.C.G.
PGM III. 483-88
W.C.G.
PGM III. 488-94
W.C.G.
PGM III. 494-611
W.C.G. / E.N.O.
PGM III. 612-32
J.M.D.
PGM III. 633-731
M.W.M.
PGM IV
PGM IV. 1-25
M.W.M.
PGM IV. 26-51
H.M.
PGM TV. 52-85
H.M. / M.W.M.
PGM IV. 86-87
M.W.M.
(No tide) Magical handbook
[Rite] for acquiring an assistant daimon
The spell of Pnouthis (for acquiring an as-
sistant daimon)
Prayer of deliverance
Invisibility spell
Memory spell
Spell for invisibility
Apollonian invocation
(No tide) Magical handbook
(No tide) Spell for revelation
(No title) Alternative spell for revelation
(No title) Magical handbook
(No title) Cat ritual for many purposes
(No ride) Oracular request (?)
(No tide) Spell for revelation
Foreknowledge charm
[Horoscope]
(No tide) Spell for foreknowledge
(No title) Memory spell
A copy from a holy book (spell for fore-
knowledge and memory)
Memory spell
Foreknowledge charm
Another (foreknowledge charm to detect a
thief)
Another (spell to detect a thief?)
[Spell to establish a relationship with]
Helios
(No tide) Spell for gaining control of one’s
shadow
(No tide) Spell for a direct vision
(No tide) Magical handbook
(No title) Spell lor revelation
Initiation
(No title) Spell for revelation
Phylactery' against daimons
Tabic of Spells
Xll
PGM TV. 88-93
W.C.G. / M.W.M.
PGM rV. 94-153
M.W.M.
PGM IV. 154-285
J.P.H. / E.N.O.
PGM IV. 286-95
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 296-466
E.N.O.
PGM TV. 467-68
R.F.H.
PGM IV. 469-70
H.M.
PGM IV. 471-73
H.M.
PGM IV. 474
H.M.
PGM IV. 475 - 829
M.W.M.
PGM IV. 830
H.M.
PGM TV. 831-32
R.F.H.
PGM IV. 833-34
H.M.
PGM IV. 835-49
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 850-929
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 930-1114
W.C.G. / E.N.O.
PGM IV. 1115-66
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 1167-1226
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 1227-64
M.W.M.
PGM IV. 1265-74
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 1275-1322
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 1323-30
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 1331-89
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 1390-1495
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 1496-1595
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 1596-1715
M.S.
PGM TV. 1716-1870
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 1872-1927
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 1928-2005
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 2006-2125
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 2125-39
M.S.
PGM IV. 2140-44
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 2145-2240
H.M.
PGM IV. 2241-2358
E.N.O.
PGM TV. 2359-72
R.F.H.
PGM IV. 2373-2440
R.F.H.
PGM IV. 2441-2621
E.N.O.
PGM TV. 2622-2707
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 2708- 84
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 2785-2890
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 2891 -2942
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 2943-66
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 2967-3006
E.N.O.
PGM IV. 3007-86
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 3086-3124
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 3125-71
M.S.
PGM IV. 3172-3208
W.C.G.
PGM IV. 3209-54
J.P.H.
PGM IV. 3255-74
E.N.O.
PGM V
Another, to Helios
(No tide) Love spell of attraction
Nephotes to Psammetichos (letter concern-
ing bowl divination)
Spell for picking a plant
Wondrous spell for binding a lover
Charm to restrain anger
(Charm) to get friends
(No tide) Verses from Homer
(No tide) Verse from Homer
(No tide) The “Mithras Liturgy”
(No tide) Verse from Homer
Charm to restrain anger
(Charm) to get friends
(No dtic) Astrological text
Charm of Solomon that produces a trance
Charm that produces direct vision
Hidden stele (prayer)
Stele (spell for deliverance)
Rite for driving out daimons
Aphrodite’s name (love spell)
Bear charm
Another (Bear charm)
Bear charm
Love spell of attraction
Love spell of attraction
Consecration for all purposes
Sword of Dardanos (love spell)
(No tide) Fetching charm
King Pitys’ spell of attraction
Pitys’ spell of attraction
A restraining seal
Pitys die Thessalian’s spell for questioning
corpses
Divine assistance from three Homeric
verses
Document to the waning moon
Business spell
Charm for acquiring business
Love spell of attraction
Slander spell to Selene
Love spell of attraction
Prayer to Selene
Love spell of attraction
Love spell of attraction
(No tide) Spell for picking a plant
Charm of Pibechis for those possessed by
daimons
Oracle of Kronos, called “little mill”
(No tide) Spell for favor
Dream-producing charm
Saucer divination of Aphrodite
(No tide) Spell to induce insomnia
(No tide) Magical handbook
Table of Spells
xiii
PGMV. 1-53
W.C.G.
Oracle of Sarapis
PGM V. 54-69
W.C.G.
Direct vision spell
PGMV. 70-95
W.C.G.
(No title) Spell to catch a chief
PGMV. 96-172
D.E.A.
Stele of Jeu the hieroglyphist (letter)
PGMV. 172-212
W.C.G.
Another way (spell to catch a thief)
PGMV. 213-303
M.S.
Hermes’ ring
PGMV. 304-69
M.S.
(No title) Defixio
PGMV. 370-446
E.N.O.
(No title) Spell for revelation
PGMV. 447-58
M.S.
(No title) Instruction concerning a magical
ring
PGMV. 459-89
D.E.A.
Another way (spell for many purposes)
PGM Va. 1-3
H.M.
(No title) Spell for direct vision
PGM VI. 1-47
E.N.O.
(No title) Prayer for encounter with Helios
PGM VII
(No title) Magical handbook
PGM VII. 1-148
H.M.
Homer oracle
PGM VII. 149-54
W.C.G.
To keep bugs out of the house
PGM VII. 155-67
W.C.G.
Days and hours for divination
PGM VII. 167-86
R.D.K.
Demokritos’ “table gimmicks”
PGM VII. 186-90
R.F.H.
Favor and victory charm
PGMV IT 191-92
E.N.O.
Spell for binding a lover
PGM VII. 193-96
J.S.
For scorpion sting
PGM VII. 197-98
J.S.
For discharge of the eyes
PGM VII. 199-201
J.S.
For migraine headache
PGM VII. 201-2
J.S.
Another (for migraine headache)
PGM VII. 203-5
J.S.
For coughs
PGM VII. 206-7
J.S.
Another (for coughs)
PGMV II. 208-9
J.S.
For hardening of the breasts
PGM VII. 209-10
J.S.
For swollen testicles
PGM VII. 211-12
J.S.
For fever with shivering fits
PGM VII. 213-14
J.S.
For daily fever and nightly fever
PGM VII. 215-18
H.M.
Stele of Aphrodite (spell for favor)
PGM Vir. 218-21
J.S.
Phylactery for daily fever with shivering fits
PGM VII. 222-49
W.C.G.
Request for a dream oracle from Besas
PGM VII. 250-54
W.C.G.
Request for a dream oracle
PGM VII. 255-59
W.C.G.
Another to the same lamp
PGM VII. 260-71
J.S.
For the ascent of the uterus
PGM VII. 272-83
W.C.G.
(No title) Astrological calendar
PGM VII. 284-99
E.N.O.
Orbit of the moon (horoscope)
PGM VII. 300
W.C.G.
(No title) Spell of uncertain purpose
PGM VII. 300a— 310
E.N.O.
Love charm
PGM VII. 311-16
M.S.
Phylactery
PGM VII. 317-18
M.S.
Another phylactery
PGM VII. 319-34
W.C.G.
Charm for direct vision
PGM VII. 335-47
W.C.G.
Charm for direct vision
PGM VII. 348-58
W.C.G.
Divination by means of a boy
PGM VII. 359-69
W.C.G.
Request for a dream oracle
PGM VII. 370 - 73
W.C.G.
(Spell) against every wild animal
PGM VII. 374-76
R.E.H.
Charm to induce insomnia
PGM VII. 376-84
R.F.H.
Another (charm to induce insomnia)
PGM VII. 385-89
E.N.O.
Cup spell (love spell)
PGM VII. 390-93
R.F.H.
Victory charm for the races
PGM VII. 394-95
R.F.H.
Coercive spell for restraining
PGM VII. 396-404
R.F.H.
Spell for silencing, subjecting, and
restraining
XIV
Tabic of Spells
PGM VII. 405-6
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 407-10
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 411-16
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 417-22
M.S.
PGM VII. 423-28
R.F.H.
PGM VIL 429-58
M.S.
PGM VIL 459-61
E.N.O.
PGM VIL 462-66
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 467-77
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 478-90
H.M.
PGM VII. 490-504
M.S.
PGM VII. 505-28
H.M.
PGM VIL 528-39
R.F.H.
PGM VIL 540-78
J.P.H.
PGM VII. 579-90
M.S:
PGM VIL 591-92
W.C.G.
PGM VIL 593-619
D.E.A.
PGM VIL 619-27
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 628-42
M.S.
PGM VIL 643-51
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 652-60
R.F.H.
PGM VII. 661-63
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 664-85
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 686-702
H.D.B.
PGM VII. 703-26
W.C.G.
PGM VII. 727- 39
W.C.G.
PGM VIL 740-55
W.C.G.
PGM VIL 756-94
W.C.G.
PGM VIL 795-845
J.P.H.
PGM VII. 846-61
W.C.G.
PGM VII. 862-918
E.N.O.
PGM VIL 919-24
R.F.H.
PGM VIL 925-39
R.F.H.
PGM VII. 940-68
R.F.H.
PGM VIL 969-72
E.N.O.
PGM VIL 973-80
E.N.O.
PGM VIL 981-93
E.N.O.
PGM VII. 993-1009
W.C.G.
PGM VIL 1009-16
W.C.G.
PGM VII. 1017-26
R.F.H.
PGM VIII. 1-63
E.N.O.
PGM VIII. 64-110
W.C.G. / E.N.O.
PGM IX. 1-14
R.F.H. / E.N.O.
PGMX. 1-23
E.N.O.
PGMX. 24-35
R.F.H.
PGMX. 36-50
R.F.H.
PGM XIa. 1-40
H.M.
PGM Xlb. 1-5
R.D.K.
PGM XIc. 1-19
E.N.O.
PDM xii (PGM XII)
PDM xii 1-5
J.H.J.
PDM xii 6-20
J.H.J.
Love spell
(No tide) Dream spell
Spell for causing talk while asleep
Restraining spell
To win at dice
Restraining spell
Love charm
Love charm
(No tide) Love spell of attraction
(No tide) Spell for dream revelation
(No tide) Spell for protection
Meeting with vour own daimon
Victory charm
Lamp divination
Phylactery
(No tide) Prayer of invocation
Fetching charm
From the Diadem of Moses (spells for
invisibility and love)
(No tide) Rite involving a magical ring
Cup spell (love spell)
Spell to induce insomnia
Love spell
Request for dream revelations
Bear charm
Request for dream oracle
Charm for a direct vision of Apollo
(Request for a dream oracle]
Prayer
Pythagoras’ request for a dream oracle and
Demokritos’ dream divination
Shadow on the sun (spell for revelation)
Lunar spell of Klaudianos
Hermes’ wondrous victory charm
Another, charm to subject
Charm to restrain anger and to subject
A good potion (love spell)
Love spell of attraction . . .
[Love spell of attraction]
(No tide) Spell of uncertain purpose
Divination by a dream
[No title] Spell for favor and victory
Binding love spell of Astrapsoukos
Request for a dream oracle of Besas
(No tide) Spell to subject and silence
(No tide [?]) Love spell
Charm to restrain anger
Apollo’s charm to subject
Apollonius of Tyana’s old serving woman
(No tide) “Table gimmick” (?)
(No title) Love spell
(No tide) Magical handbook
(No tide) Invocation
A ring to cause praise
XV
Table of Spells
PDM xii 21-49
J.H.J.
PGM XII. 1-13
H.M.
PGM XII. 14-95
H.M.
PGM XII. 96-106
R.F.H.
PGM XII. 107-21
W.C.G.
PGM XII. 121-43
R.D.K.
PGM XII. 144-52
W.C.G.
PGM XII. 153-60
W.C.G.
PGM XII. 160-78
R.F.H.
PGM XII. 179-81
R.F.H.
PGM XII. 182-89
R.F.H.
PGM XII. 190-92
W.C.G.
PGM XII. 193-201
J.S.
PGM XII. 201-69
M.S.
PGM XII. 270-350
M.S.
PGM XII. 351-64
J.P.H.
PGM XII. 365-75
R.F.H.
PGM XII. 376-96
R.F.H.
PGM XII. 397-400
H.M.
PGM XII. 401-44
H.D.B. / J.S.
PDM xii. 50-61
J.H.J.
[PGM XII. 445-481
PDM xii. 62-75
J.H.J.
[PGM XII. 449-52]
PDM xii. 76-107
J.H.J. / R.F.H.
[PGM XII. 453-65]
PDM xii. 108-18
J.H.J.
[PGM XII. 466-68]
PDM xii. 119-34
J.H.J. / E.N.O.
[PGM XII. 469-73]
PDM xii. 135-46
J.H.J. / E.N.O.
[PGM XII. 474-79]
PDM xii. 147-64
J.H.J. / E.N.O.
[PGM XII. 480-95]
[PGM XII. 480-95]
PGM XIII. 1-734
M.S.
PGM XIII. 1-343
M.S.
PGM XIII. 343-646
M.S.
PGM XIII. 647-734
M.S.
PGM XIII. 734-1077
M.S.
PDM xiv
PDM xiv. 1-92
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 93-114
J.H.J. / W.C.G.
[PGMXIVa. 1-11]
PDM xiv. 115
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 116
J-H.J.
(No title) Prayer for a revelation of a rem-
edy for a disease
Rite (to produce an epiphany of Kore)
Eros as assistant daimon
Himcrios’ recipes
Charm of Agathokles for sending dreams
Zminis ofTentyra’s spell for sending dreams
Request for a dream
Spell for a divine revelation
(No title) Spell to release from bonds
(No title) Spell for restraining anger
(No title) Spell for gaining favor
Request for a dream oracle spoken to the
Bear
[To make] a tincture of gold
A ring
A little ring for success and favor and
victory
Demokritos' “sphere”
Charm for causing separation
Charm to induce insomnia
To gain favor and friendship forever
Interpretations
Spell for separating one person from
another
Another (spell for separation)
Another (spell for separation)
A spell [to] cause a woman to hate a man
A spell for it (fetching spell?)
(No title) Love spell of attraction
Another (love spell of attraction)
A sacred book called “Unique” or “Eighth
Book of Moses”
[Part A: Initiation ritual and magical
handbook]
[Part B: A second, different version of the
initiation ritual]
[Part C: A third, different version of the in-
itiation ritual]
(No title) A collection of miscellaneous
spells
(No title) Magical handbook
[A vessel divination]
(No title) Spell for revelation
(No title) Spell for vision (?)
Another spell for vision (?)
XV!
Tabic of Spells
PDM xiv. 117-49
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 150-231
J.I4.J.
PDM xiv. 232-38
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 239-95
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 295-308
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 309-34
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 335-55
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 355-65
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 366-75
J-H.J.
PDM xiv. 376-94
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 395-427
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 428-50
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 451-58
J.H.J. / R.F.H.
[PGMX IVb. 12-15]
PDM xiv. 459—75
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 475-88
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 489-515
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 516-27
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 528-53
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 554-62
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 563-74
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 574-85
J-H.J.
PDM xiv. 585-93
J-H.J.
PDM xiv. 594-620
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 620-26
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 627-35
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 636-69
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 670-74
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 675-94
J.H.J. / R.F.H.
[PGM XTVc. 15-27]
PDM xiv. 695-700
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 701-5
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 706-10
J-H.J.
PDM xiv. 711-15
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 716-24
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 724-26
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 727-36
J-H.J.
PDM xiv. 737-38
J-H.J.
PDM xiv. 739-40
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 741
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 742
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 743-49
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 750-71
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 772-804
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 805—40
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 841-50
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 851-55
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 856-75
J.H.J.
PDM xiv. 875-85
J.H.J.
A “god’s arrival”
An inquiry of the lamp
A “god’s arrival”
The vessel inquiry" of Khonsu
[A] vessel [inquiry]
A spell for causing favor
(No title) Love spell
Another love spell
The method (spell for separating man and
woman)
(No title) Various recipes
[A vessel divination]
(No tide) Two love potions
(No tide) Spell for going before a superior
(No ride) Lamp divination
(No ride) Lamp divination
Another (lamp divination)
Another (lamp divination)
(No ride) Vessel divination
(No ride) Spell for dog bite
(No ride) Spell for removal of poison
(No tide) Spell for removal of bone stuck
in the throat
(No tide) Spell for dog bite
(No tide) Spell for sting
(No title) Spell for removal of bone stuck
in the throat
(No title) Vessel divination
(No title) Love potion
(No title) Introduction to a collection of
spells (?)
A spell (to cause “evil sleep”)
(No title) Vessel divination
(No title) Vessel divination
(No ride) Spell against “evil sleep”
Prescription (to cause “evil sleep”)
Another (spell to cause “evil sleep”)
Another (spell to cause “evil sleep”)
A prescription (three prescriptions to cause
“evil sleep”)
A prescription (to cause “evil sleep”)
Another (spell to cause “evil sleep”)
Another (spell to cause “evil sleep”)
Another (spell to cause “evil sleep”)
Another (spell to cause “evil sleep”)
(No tide) Lamp divination
A method (love spells)
Another (vessel inquiry'')
Another method (vessel inquiry)
Another (vessel inquiry)
(No tide) Inquiry" of the sun
Here is another (inquiry" of the sun)
Table of Spells
xvii
PDM xiv. 886-96
J-H.J.
(No tide) Recipes involving herbs
PDM xiv. 897-910
J-H.J.
(No title) List of herbs and minerals
PDM xiv. 912-16
J-H.J.
(No title) Spell to cause “evil sleep”
PDM xiv. 917-19
J-H.J.
Prescription (to cause “evil sleep”)
PDM xiv. 920-29
J-H.J.
(No title) Information concerning mineral
PDM xiv. 930-32
J-H.J.
A prescription (love spell)
PDM xiv. 933-34
J-H.J.
(No title) Information concerning mineral
PDM xiv. 935-39
J-H.J.
(No tide) Prescription for a watery' ear
PDM xiv. 940-52
J.H.J.
(No ride) Information concerning sala-
mander and herbs
PDM xiv. 953-55
J.H.J.
A prescription (to stop blood)
PDM xiv. 956-60
J-H.J.
(No title) Test of pregnancy'
PDM xiv. 961-65
J-H.J.
A prescription (two prescriptions to stop
blood)
PDM xiv. 966—69
J-H.J.
(No tide) Information concerning herbs
PDM xiv. 970-77
J-H.J.
A prescription (two prescriptions to stop
liquid in a woman)
PDM xiv. 978-80
J-H.J.
Another (prescription to stop liquid in a
woman)
PDM xiv. 981-84
J.H.J.
Another (prescription to stop liquid in a
woman)
PDM xiv. 985-92
J.H.J.
Gout (prescription)
PDM xiv. 993-1002
J-H.J.
Another (prescription for gout)
PDM xiv. 1003-14
J.H.J.
(No tide) Amulet for gout
PDM xiv. 1015-20
J.H.J.
(No ride) Prescription for unidentifiable
ailment
PDM xiv. 1021-23
J.H.J.
(No ride) Prescription for a stiff foot
PDM xiv. 1024-25
J.H.J.
(No tide) Another prescription for a stiff
foot
PDM xiv. 1026-45
J.H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
PDM xiv. 1046-47
J-H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
PDM xiv. 1047-48
J.H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
PDM xiv. 1049-55
J-H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
PDM xiv. 1056—62
J.H.J.
(No tide) Spells involving voces magicae
PDM xiv. 1063-69
J.H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
PDM xiv. 1070-77
J.H.J.
(No tide) Spell to send dreams and make a
woman love
PDM xiv. 1078-89
J-H.J.
(No tide) Request for revelation
PDM xiv. 1090-96
J-H.J.
(No tide) Fetching spell
PDM xiv. 1097-1103
J-H.J.
(No tide) Spell to heal an eye disease
PDM xiv. 1104-9
J-H.J.
(No tide) Recipe concerning eye ointment
PDM xiv. 1110-29
J-H.J.
(No tide) Spell to open eyes for divination
PDM xiv. 1130-40
J.H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
PDM xiv. 1141-54
J.H.J.
(No tide) Spell for lamp divination
PDM xiv. 1155—62
J.H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
PDM xiv. 1163-79
J-H.J.
(No tide) Spell for vessel divination
PDM xiv. 1180-81
J-H.J.
(No tide) Fragment from invocation
PDM xiv. 1182-87
J-H.J.
(No tide) Spell to cause madness
PDM xiv. 1188-89
J-H.J.
(No tide) Love spell (?)
PDM xiv. 1190-93
J-H.J.
(No title) Another love spell
PDM xiv. 1194-95
J-H.J.
(No title) Another love spell
PDM xiv. 1196-98
J-H.J.
(No tide) Another love spell
PDM xiv. 1199-1205
J.H.J.
(No tide) Spell for lamp divination
PDM xiv. 1206-18
J-H.J.
(No tide) Love spell
Table of Spells
XY'Ill
PDM xiv. 1219-27
J.H.J.
PGM XV. 1-21
R.F.H.
PGM XVI. 1-75
E.N.O.
PGM XVI la. 1-25
E.N.O.
PGM XVIIb. 1-23
E.N.O.
PGM XV He. 1-14
R.D.K.
PGM XVIIIa. 1-4
J.S.
PGM XV Illb. 1-7
J.S.
PGM XIXa. 1-54
E.N.O. / R.D.K.
PGM XlXb. 1-3
E.N.O.
PGM XlXb. 4-18
E.N.O.
PGM XX. 1-4
E.N.O.
PGM XX. 4-12
E.N.O.
PGM XX. 13-19
E.N.O.
PGM XXL 1-29
W.C.G.
PGM XX Ila. 1-27
J.S.
PGM XX lib. 1-26
D.E.A.
PGM XXIIb. 27-31
D.E.A.
PGM XXIIb. 32-35
D.E.A.
PGM XXIII. 1-70
E.N.O.
PGM XXIVa. 1-25
W.C.G.
PGM XXIVb. 1-15
R.D.K.
PGM XXVa-d
R.D.K.
PGM XXVI. 1-21
PGM XXVII. 1-5
R.F.H.
PGM XXVIIIa. 1-7
R.D.K.
PGM XXVIIIb. 1-9
R.D.K.
PGM XXVIIIc. 1-11
R.D.K.
PGM XXIX. 1-10
E.N.O.
PGM XXX a-f
PGM XXXI a-c
PGM XXXII. 1-19
E.N.O.
PGM XXXIIa. 1-25
E.N.O.
PGM XXXIII. 1-25
J.S.
PGM XXXIV. 1-24
E.N.O.
PGM XXXV. 1-42
R.F.H.
PGM XXXVI. 1-34
M.S.
PGM XXXVI. 35-68
R.F.H.
PGM XXXVI. 69-101
E.N.O.
PGM XXXVI. 102-33
E.N.O.
PGM XXXVI. 134-60
E.N.O.
PGM XXXVI. 161-77
R.F.H.
PGM XXXVI. 178-87
M.S.
PGM XXXVI.
E.N.O-
187-210
PGM XXXVI. 211-30
R.F.H,
PGM XXXVI. 231-55
R.F.H.
PGM XXXVI. 256-64
M.S.
PGM XXXVI. 264-74
R.F.H.
PGM XXXVI. 275-83
H.M.
PGM XXXVI. 283-94
E.N.O.
(No title) Spell for fever
(No title) Charm to bind a lover
(No title) Charm to bind a lover
(No title) Love spell of attraction
(No title) Prayer
(No title) Amulet
(No tide) Amulet for headache
(No tide) Fever amulet
(No title) Love spell of attraction
(No title) Love spell of attraction
Love spell of attraction
[Spell for] headache
[The charm] of the Syrian woman of
Gadara for any inflammation
The charm of the Thessalian Philinna, [for]
headache
(No tide) Invocation
(No tide) Magi co-medical recipes
Prayer of Jacob
Request for a dream oracle
Request for a dream oracle
Fragment of the Kestoi of Julius Africanus
(No tide) Oracle
(No tide) Love spell
(No tide) Amulets (?)
(No tide) Sortes Astmmpsycbi (omitted)
Victory charm
(No title) Spell for scorpion sting
(No tide) Spell for scorpion sting
(No title) Spell for scorpion sting
(No title) Prayer (poem)
(No tide) Oracle questions (omitted)
(No title) Oracle questions (omitted)
(No title) Love spell of attraction
(No tide) Love spell of attraction
(No title) Fever amulet
(No tide) Fragment from a novel
Chann for favor and victory
Charm to restrain
Charm to restrain anger and to secure favor
Love spell of attraction
Divination by fire (love spell)
Love spell of attraction
Charm to restrain anger, and for success
Charm to break spells
Love spell of attraction
Prayer to Helios: charm to restrain anger,
and for victory and favor
(No title) Charm to inflict harm
(No title) Charm to break enchantment
(No title) Charm of uncertain purpose
Charm for gaining favor
Pudenda key spell
Tabic of Spells
XIX
PGM XXXVI.
E.N.O.
295-311
PGM XXXVI. 312-20
R.F.H.
PGM XXXVI. 320-32
JS.
PGM XXXV I. 333-60
E.N.O.
PGM XXXVI. 361-71
E.N.O.
PGM XXXVIL 1-26
R.D.K.
PGM XXXVIII. 1-26
E.N.O.
PGM XXXIX. 1-21
E.N.O.
PGM XL. 1-18
R.F.H.
PGM XLI. 1-9
R.D.K.
PGM XLIL 1-10
R.D.K.
PGMXLUL 1-27
is.
PGM XLI V. 1-18
R.D.K.
PGM XLV. 1-8
R.D.K.
PGM XLVI. 1-4
R.F.H.
PGM XLVI. 4-8
R.F.H.
PGM XLVII. 1-17
M.S.
PGM XLVIII. 1-21
M.W.M.
PGM XLIX
R.D.K.
PGM L. 1~18
R.D.K.
PGM LI. 1-27
R.F.H.
PGM LII. 1-9
R.D.K.
PGM LII. 9-19
R.D.K.
PGM LII. 20-26
R.D.K.
PGM LIII-LVI
PGM LVII. 1-37
R.F.H.
PGM LVIII. 1-14
R.F.H.
PGM LVIII. 15-39
R.F.H.
PGM LIX. 1-15
M.S.
PGM LX. 1-5
M.S.
PDM Ixi. 1-30
R.K.R.
PDM lxi. 30-41
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 42
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 43-48
J.H.J. / R.D.K
[ PGM LXI. i-v]*
PDM Ixi. 49-57
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 58-62
R.D.K.
[PGM LXI. xi, x]*
PDM lxi. 63-78
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 79-94
J.H.J.
PDM Ixi. 95-99
J.H.J.
PDM ixi. 100-105
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 106-11
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 112-27
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 128-47
J.H.J.
PDM lxi. 148-58
J.H.J.
PDM Lxi. 159-96
E.N.O.
[PGM LXI. 1-38]
PDM lxi. 197-216
E.N.O.
[PGM LXI. 39-71]
PGM LXII. 1-24
E.N.O.
Love spell of attraction
Charm to open a door
Contraceptive spell
Love spell of attraction
Love spell of attraction
(No title) Spell of uncertain purpose
(No title) Love spell of attraction
(No title) Love spell of attraction
(No title) Curse
(No title) Amulet (?)
(No title) Amulet (?)
(No title) Amulet against fever
(No title) Amulet against fever (?)
(No title) Amulet (?)
(No title) Request for revelation (?)
Spell to silence and subject
(No title) Amulet against fever
(No title) Amulet (?)
(No title) Amulet
(No title) Oracle (?)
(No title) Charm to inflict harm
(No title) Love spell (?)
(No title) Love spell (?)
Spell to induce insomnia
(No titles) Spells (?) of uncertain purpose
(omitted)
(No title) Rite to acquire an assistant
daimon (?)
(No tide) Spell to inflict harm
(No tide) Spell of uncertain purpose
(No tide) Phylactery
(No dde) Amulet
(No tide) Spell for revelation
(No tide) Spell of uncertain purpose
(No tide) Spell of uncertain purpose
Remedy for [an] ulcer (?) of the head
[Remedy for the] head (?)
For an erection
(No tide) Spell for a dream revelation
Wav of finding a thief
Spell of giving praise and love in Nubian
The red cloth of Nephthys
Prescription for a donkey not moving
Prescription for making a woman love
(No tide) Love spell
(No title) Love spell
Love charm
Love spell of attraction
(No tide) Love spell of attraction
XX
Table of Spells
PGM LXII. 24-46
W.C.G. / J.P.H
PGM LXII. 47-51
M.S.
PGM LXII. 52-75
R.D.K.
PGM LXII. 76-106
J.S.
PGM LXIII. 1-7
E.N.O.
PGM LXIII. 7-12
E.N.O.
PGM LXIII. 13-20
E.N.O.
PGM LXIII. 21-24
E.N.O.
PGM LXIII. 24-25
J.S.
PGM LXIII. 26-28
J.S.
PGM LXIV. 1-12
R.F.H.
PGM LXV. 1-4
J.S.
PGM LXV. 4-7
J.S.
PGM LXVI. 1-11
R.F.H.
PGM LXVII. 1-24
E.N.O.
PGM LXVIII. 1-20
E.N.O.
PGM LXIX. 1-3
D.E.A.
PGM LXX. 1-4
H.D.B.
PGM LXX. 4-25
H.D.B.
PGM LXX. 26-51
H.D.B.
PGM LXXI. 1-8
M.S.
PGM LXXII. 1-36
W.C.G.
PGM
LXXIII— LXXVI
PGM LXXVII. 1-24
W.C.G.
PGM LXXVIII. 1-14
E.N.O.
PGM LXXIX. 1-7
R.F.H.
PGM LXXX. 1-5
R.F.H.
PGM LXXXI. 1-10
W.C.G.
PGM LXXXIL 1-12
R.D.K.
PGM LXXXI1I. 1-20
R.D.K.
PGM LXXXI V. 1-21
R.D.K.
PGM LXXX V. 1-6
R.D.K.
PGM LXXX VI. 1-2
R.D.K.
PGM LXXXVI. 3-7
R.D.K.
PGM LXXX VII. 1-11
R.D.K.
PGM LXXX VIII. 1-19
R.D.K.
PGM LXXX1X. 1-27
R.D.K.
PGM XC. 1-13
H.D.B.
PGM XC. 14-18
H.D.B.
PGM XCI. 1-14
R.D.K.
PGM XCII. 1-16
R.D.K.
PGM XCIIL 1-6
R.D.K.
PGM XCIIL 7-21
R.D.K.
PGM XCI V. 1-3
R.D.K.
PGM XCIV. 4-6
R.D.K.
PGM XCIV. 7-9
R.D.K.
PGM XCIV. 10-16
R.D.K.
(No title) Saucer divination
(No title) Oracle
(No title) Horoscope
(No title) Spell (or two spells), to inflict
harm (?)
(No title) Love-potion (?)
[Spell to make a woman] confess the name
of the man she loves
(No title) Spell of uncertain purpose
(No title) Spell of uncertain purpose
Contraceptive
Contraceptive
(No title) Charm to inflict harm
Spell to [prevent pregnancy]
For migraine headache
(No title) Charm to cause separation
(No title) Love spell (?)
(No tide) Love spell
(No title) Victory spell (?)
Charm for favor, etc.
Charm of Hekate Ereschigal against fear
of punishment
Against fear and to dissolve spelts
Phylactery
[Rite concerning the Bear]
(No titles) Oracle questions (omitted)
(No title) Charm for getting a revelation
(No tide) Love spell of attraction
Charm to restrain anger
Charm to restrain anger
(No tide) Greetings to deities
(No tide) Recipe for ingredients (fragment
of formulary?)
For fever with shivering fits
(No title) Fetching charm
(No tide) For daimon possession
(No title) Amulet
(No title) Rite
(No tide) Fever amulet
(No tide) Fever amulet
(No tide) Phylactery for fever, phantoms,
daimons, etc.
(No title) Rite or phylactery
Salve for fever
(No tide) Fever amulet (?)
[Charm] for favor
(No title) Sacrificial rite
(No tide) Rite
(No title) Voces magicae
Drving powder made with saffron [for]
sharp eyesight
For excellent health
A phylactery for [fever]
XXI
Tabic of Spells
PGMX CIV. 17-21
R.D.K.
PGM XCIV. 22-26
R.D.K.
PGM XCIV. 27-35
R.D.K.
PGM XCIV. 36-38
R.D.K.
PGM XCIV. 39-60
R.D.K.
PGM XCV. 1-6
R.D.K.
PGM XCV. 7-13
R.D.K.
PGM XCV. 14-18
R.D.K.
PGM XCVI. 1-8
R.D.K.
PGMX CVII. 1-6
H.D.B.
PGM XCVII. 7-9
H.D.B.
PGM XCVI I. 10-13
H.D.B.
PGM XCVII. 15-17
H.D.B.
PGM XCV III. 1-7
H.D.B.
PGM XCIX. 1-3
H.D.B.
PGM C. 1-7
H.D.B.
PGM Cl. 1-53
H.D.B.
PGM CII. 1-17
H.D.B.
PGM Cffl. 1-18
R.D.K.
PGM CIV. 1-8
R.D.K.
PGM CV. 1-15
R.D.K.
PGM cm. 1-10
R.D.K.
PGM CVII. 1-19
R.D.K.
PGM CVTII. 1-12
R.D.K.
PGM CIX. 1-8
H.D.B.
PGM CX. 1-12
R.D.K.
PGM CXI. 1-15
R.D.K.
PGM CXII. 1-15
R.D.K.
PGM CXIIl. 1-4
R.D.K.
PGM CXIV. 1-14
R.D.K.
PGM CXV. 1-7
R.D.K.
PGM CXVI. 1-17
H.D.B.
PGM CXVII. Fr.
R.D.K.
1-23
PGM CXVIII
PGM CXtXa. 1
R.D.K.
PGM CXIXa. 2-3
R.D.K.
PGM CXIXa. 4-6
R.D.K.
PGM CXIXa. 7-11
R.D.K.
PGM CXIXb. 1-3
R.D.K.
PGM CXIXb. 4-5
R.D.K.
PGM CXX. 1-13
R.D.K.
PGM CXXI. 1-14
R.D.K.
PGM CXXII. 1-5
H.D.B.
PGM CXXII. 5-25
H.D.B.
PGM CXXII. 26-50
H.D.B.
PGM CXXII. 51-55
H.D.B.
PGM CXXIIIa. 1-23
R.D.K.
For those possessed by daimons
For the eyes
[For] tumors [and] . . .
[For . . . ] and stranglin'
Another, for migraine headache
(No tide) Spell for subjugation
Concerning die mole-[rat]
A remedy for all cases of . . . [epilepsy]
(No tide) Amulet
(No tide) Spell against eye disease (?)
Another (spell)
Anodter (spell)
For ever)' [disease]
(No tide) Amulet
(No tide) Amulet
(No title) Amulet
(No title) Fetching charm
(No tide) Request for a dream oracle
(No tide) Fetching charm
(No tide) Amulet for fever with shivering
fits
(No ride) Invocation of Sarapis
(No ride) Amulet for fever wirii shivering
fits
(No title) Fetching charm
(No ride) Fetching charm
(No tide) Love spell
(No ride) Horoscope
(No tide) Instruction for making magical
figures
(No tide) Amulet for scorpion sting
(No ride) Amulet for scorpion sting
(No ride) Amulet for attacks by daimons
and for epilepsy
(No tide) Amulet for fever with shivering
fits
(No tide) Invocation of Typhon-Seth
(No tide) Fetching charm
(No tide) Magical scroll (omitted)
(No tide) Fragment from formulary
Love spell through touch
Fetching charm
Charm to subject
(No tide)
[For fever witii shivering fits]
(No tide) Amulet (for inflammation of die
uvular)
(No tide) Phylactery' for a variety of evils
An excerpt for enchantments
Enchantment using apples
(No title) Love spell (fetching charm?)
For headache
(No tide) Voces magicae
xxu
Tabic of Spells
PGM CXXIIIa.
R.D.K.
Erotylos
24-47
PGM CXXIIIa.
R.D.K.
For childbearing
48-50
PGM CXXIIIa.
R.D.K.
For sleep
51-52
PGM CXXIIIa.
R.D.K.
For strangury
53-55
PGM CXXIIIa.
R.D.K.
For a shivering fit
56-68
PGM CXXIIIa.
R.D.K.
For victor}'
69-72
PGM CXXIIIb
R.D.K.
(No title) Voces magicae
PGM CXXIIIc
R.D.K.
(No title) Voces magicae
PGM CXXIIId
R.D.K.
(No tide) Voces magicae
PGM CXXIIIe
R.D.K.
(No tide) Parallel of CXXIIIa. 24-47
PGM CXXIIIf
R.D.K.
(No tide) Parallel of CXXIIIa. 24-47
PGM CXXIV.I-5
R.D.K.
(No tide) Charm to inflict harm (?)
PGM CXXIV. 6-43
R.D.K.
Charm to inflict harm
PGM CXXVa-f
R.D.K.
(No tide) Fragments of spells
PGM CXXVIa. 1-21
H.D.B.
(No title) Spell to cause separation
PGM CXXVIb. 1-17
H.D.B.
(No title) Spell to cause separation
PGM CXXVII. 1-12
R.D.K.
(No title) Fragment of formulary of mag-
PGM CXXVIII. 1-12
R.D.K.
ico-medical prescriptions
Phylactery for fever
PGM CXXIX. 1-7
R.D.K.
( No tide) Fragment of unidentifiable spell
PGM CXXX. 1-13
H.D.B.
(No tide) For a shivering fever
PDM Supplement
1-6
J.H.J.
(Spell for] sending a dream
7-18
J-H.J.
[Spell for] sending a dream
19-27
J-H.J.
Spell for sending a dream
28-40
J.H.J.
[Spell for] sending a dream
40-60
J.H.J.
Spell for sending a dream
60-101
J-H.J.
Spell for sending a dream
101-16
J.H.J.
Spell for sending a dream
117-30
J.H.J.
[Spell] for sending a dream
130-38
J.H.J.
A “god’s arrival” of Osiris
138-49
J-H.J.
Spell for . . . (subjection?)
149-62
J.H.J.
A “god’s arrival” of Thoth
162-68
J.H.J.
Spell for finding your house of life
168-84
J.H.J.
Spell for reciting a document
185-20S
J-H.J.
(No title) Fragments of rites and formulae
List of Papyri in Preisendanz
Reference
Location
A lumber
Date
I
Berlin, Staatlicbc Museen
P.Berol. tnv. 5025
IV p /V p
II
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
P.Berol. inv. 5026
IV p
III
Paris, Musee du Louvre
no. 2396 (P.Mimaut frgs.
1-4)
jyp —
IV
Paris, Bibliothequc Nationale
P.Bibl.Nat. Suppl. gr. no. 574
iv p -
V
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 46
IV 1 ’?
Va
Uppsala, Victor iamuseet
P.Holm ., p. 42
VI
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 47
II p or IIP
VII
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 121
IIF/IVP •
VIII
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 122
IV P or V p
IX
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 123
IV P or V p
X
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 124
IV p or V p
XIa
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 125 verso
V p
Xlb
London, British Museum
P.Lond. 147
IIP
XIc
London, British Museum
P.Lond, 148
IP/IIP
XII
Leiden, Rijksmuseum van
Oudheden
P.Lugd.Bat. J 384 (V)
IV p
XIII
Leiden, Rijksmuseum van
Oudheden
P.Lugd.Bat. J 395 (W)
IV p -~
XIV
London, British Museum
P.Lond. demot. 10070
IIP
Leiden, Rijksmuseum van
Oudheden
P.Lugd.Bat. J 383
IIP
XV
Alexandria, Musee greco-
romain d’Alexandrie
P.Alcx. inv. 491
IIP
XVI
Paris, Musee du Louvre
no. 3378
p
XVIIa
Strasbourg, Bibliothequc
universitaire et regionale
P.gr. 1167
IV P
XVIIb
Strasbourg, Bibliotheque
universitaire et regionale
P.gr. 1 179
IP
XVIIc
Strasbourg, Bibliothequc
universitaire et regionale
P.gr. 574
xviiia
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
BGU III 955
IIP/V p
XVIIIb
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
BGU III 956
IIP/V p
XlXa
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
P.Berol. inv. 9909
IV P or V p
XlXb
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
P.Berol. inv. 11737
IV p
XX
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
P.Berol. inv. 7504 + P.Amb.
ii, Col. II (A) + P.Oxy. inedit.
(—Pack 2 1872 )
r
XXI
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
P.Berol , inv. 9566 verso
IP or IIP
XXIIa
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
BGU IV 1026 (inv. no.
9873)
IV P or V p
XXII b
Berlin, Staatiiche Museen
P.Berol. inv. 13895
IV P
XXIV
Papyri in Preisendanz
XXIII
Oxford, Bodleian Library'
P.Oxy. 412
III P
XXTVa
Oxford, Bodleian Library
P.Oxy. 886
IIP
XXIVb
Oxford, Bodleian Library'
P.Oxy . 887
III p
XXVa
Oxford, Bodleian Library
P.Oxy. 959
IIIP
XXVb
Freiburg i. Br.,
Universitatsbibliothek
P. Un.Bibl.Freib. (w/ono.)
VI p
XX Vc
Cairo, Musee des antiquites
cgvptiennes
P.Cairo 10434
XXVd
Florence, Societa Italiana
per la ricerca de papiri
P.Flor. (w/ono.)
XXVI
Oxford, Bodleian Library
P.Oxy. 1477
IIP/IV P
XXVII
Oxford, Bodleian Library'
P.Oxy. 1478
III P /IV P
XXVIIIa
Oxford, Bodleian Library'
P.Oxy. 2061
v p
XXVIIIb
Oxford, Bodleian Library
P.Oxy. 2062
VI p
XXVIIIc
Oxford, Bodleian Library
P.Oxy. 2063
VP
XXIX
XXXa-f
XXXI a— c
Oxford, Bodleian Library
[omitted]
[omitted]
P.Oxy. 1383
IIP
XXXII
London, University College
Institute of Archaeology
P.Haw. 312
IJP
XXXIII
Berkeley, University of
California
P.Tebt. II 275
IIP
XXXIV
Ann Arbor, University'' of
Michigan Library
P.Fay. 5
IP/IIP
XXXV
Florence, Universita degli
Studi, Istituto di Papirologia
PSI I 29
v p
XXXVI
Oslo, Universitetsbiblioteket
P.Osl. I, 1
IV P
XXXVII
Oslo, Universitetsbiblioteket
P.Osl. I, 2
IV p
XXXVIII
Oslo, Universitetsbiblioteket
P.Osl. I, 3
IV P
XXXIX
Oslo, Universitetsbiblioteket
P.Osl. I, 4
IV P
XL
Vienna, Nationalbibliothck
Pgr. 1
lyp
XLI
Vienna, National bibliothek
P.gr. 339 = P.Rain. 4
V p /VI p
XLn
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
Pgr. 331 = P.Rain. 8
vp
XLIII
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
P.gr. 335 = P.Rain. 9
v p
XLIV
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
Pgr. 328 = P.Rain. 10
NA
XLV
Vienna, Nationalbibliothck
P.gr. 334 = P.Rain. 1 1
VP/VIP
XLVI
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
P.gr. 332 = P.Rain. 12
v p
xlvii
Vienna, Nationalbibliothck
inv. no. 8034 — P.Rain. 2
[no. 526, Wessely]
NA
XLVIII
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
inv. no. 8031 — P.Rain. 6
[no. 529, Wessely]
VP/VIP
XLIX
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
inv. no. 8035 = P.Rain. 7
[no. 525, Wessely]
NA
L
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
inv. no. 8033 = P.Rain.
[no. 527, Wessely]
VP
LI
Leipzig, Universitatsbibliothek
P.gr. 9.418
IIP
LII
LIII-LVI
Leipzig, Universitatsbibliothek
[omitted]
P.gr. 9.429
IIP
LVII
Ann Arbor, University of
Michigan'
cryptogr. pap. [otherwise
uncataloged]
P/IP
LVIII
Giessen, Universitatsbibliothek
inv. no. 266 = P. land. 87
rv p
LIX
Cairo, Musee des antiquites
egyptiennes
P.Cairo 10563
IF or III P
LX
Brussels, Fondation Egyp-
tologique Reine Elisabeth
P.Brux. in. E 6390, 6391
VP
XXV
Papyri in Preisendanz
LXI
London, British Museum
I
Leiden, Institutum Papy-
roJogicum Universitatis
Lugduno-Batavae
LXIII
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
LXIV
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
LXV
Vienna, Nationalbibliothek
LXVI
Cairo, Musee des antiquites
egyptiennes
LXVII
Cairo, Musee des antiquites
egyptiennes
LXVIII
Cairo, Musee des antiquites
egyptiennes
Ann Arbor, University of
Michigan
LXX
Ann Arbor, University of
Michigan
LXXI
Ann Arbor, University of
Michigan
LXXII
Oslo, Universitetsbiblioteket
LXXIII — LXXVI [omitted]
LXXVII
Birmingham, Woodbroke
College
LXXVIII
Heidelberg,
U ni versitatsbibliothek
LXXIX
Prague, National and Univer-
sity Library
LXXX
Prague, National and Univer-
sity Library
LXXXI
London, Egypt Exploration
Society
P.Brit.Mus. inv. 10588
IIP
(Egyptian Dept.)
P. Warren 21
III p
Pgr. 323
IP/IIP
Pgr. 29273
IV p
Pgr. 29272
VP/VIP
P. Cairo 6 0139
IIP/IV P
P. Cairo 6 0140
NA
P. Cairo 60636
IP/IIP
inv. no. 1463 = PMich. Ill,
jjp
156
inv. no. 7 = P.Micb. Ill, 154
IIP or IV p
inv. no. 193 = PMich. Ill,
IP or IIP
155
inv. no. 75 = POsl. Ill, 75
P/IP
P.Harr. 55
IP
PHeid. 2170
IIP
Pgr. 1, 18
IIP or IV p
Pgr. 1 , 21
IIP or IV P
P.Oxy. 1566
IV P
List of New Papyri Not in Preisendanz
Note: Bibliographical references are provided at the end of the translation of each
spell.
Reference
Location
Number
Date
LXXXII
Warsaw, Uniwersytet
Warszawski
P. Van. 4
IIP
LXXXffl
Princeton , Princeton Univer-
sity AM 8963
P. Print. II 107
LXXXIV
Princeton, Princeton Univer-
sity Garrett Dep. 7665
P.Princ. II 76
IIP
LXXXV
Birmingham, Selly Oak Col-
leges Central Library
P. Harris 56
P/IP
LXXXVI
Paris, L’Institut de Papyrologic
de I’Universite de Paris
P.Rein. II 89 inv. 2176
W
LXXXVII
Erlangen,
U niversitatsbibliothck
P Erlangen 37
ivp
LXXXVIII
Princeton, Princeton Univer-
sity AM 11230
P.Princ. Ill 15
IIP or IV p
LXXXIX
Lund, Universitetsbiblioteket
P.Lund Univ.Bibl. IV 12
inv. no. 32
rv p
XC
Universita Cattolica del Sacro
Cuore
P.Med. inv. no. 23
P/p/vp
XCI
Collection, G. A. Michai'lidis
P.Michael. 27
IIP or IVP
XCII
Dublin , Chester Beatty' Library
PMerton II 58
IIP
XCIII
London, Egypt Exploration
Society
PAnt. II 65
V ?
XCIV
London, Egypt Exploration
Society
PAnt. II 66
v p
xcv
London, Egypt Exploration
Society
PAnt. Ill 140
VP/VP
XCVI
Barcelona, Seminario di pa-
pirologia . . . San Cugat del
Valles
P.PalauRib. inv. 126
rvp/v p
XCVII
Koln, Institut fur
Altertumskunde
P.Koln inv. 1886
IIP/IVP
XCVIII
Koln, Institut fur
Altertumskunde
P.Koln inv. 1982
IIP
XCIX
Koln, Institut fur
Altertumskunde
P.Koln inv. 2283
V p /VI p
c
Koln, Institut fur
Altertumskunde
P.Koln inv. 2861
V p /VP
Cl
Koln, Institut fur
Altertumskunde
P.Koln inv. 3323
v p
xxviii
New Papyri Not in Preisendanz
CII
London, Egypt Exploration
Society
P.Oxy. 2753
jyp
cm
Athens, Archaeological Society'
P.SA.Athen. 70
IF
CIV
Genoa, Universita di Genova
PUG 16
IIF
cv
Berlin, Samnilung des Agyp-
tischen Museums
P.Berol. 21227
m p /rv p
CVI
Berlin, Sammlung des Agyp-
tischen Museums
P.Berol. 21165
IIF/IVP
CVII
Koln, Institut for
Altertumskunde
P.Koln inv. 5512
IIF or IV P
CVIII
Koln, Institut fur
Altertumskunde
P.Koln inv. 5514
IIF or IV P
CLX
London, Egypt Exploration
Society
P.Oxy. 50.4 B23 J(l— 3)b
ca. A.D.
300
ex
Washington, Washington
University
P.Wash. Univ. inv. 181
IF or III p
CXI
Washington, Washington
University
P. Wash. Univ. inv. 139
III P /IV P
CXII
Washington, Washington
University
P. Wash. Univ. inv. 242
rv p /v p
CXIII
Amsterdam, Bibliotheek der
Universiteit van Amsterdam
PAmst. inv. 16
v p
CXIV
Yale, Yale University Library
P.Tale inv. 989
IIF/IV p
cxv
Budapest, Collection of Emo
Gaal
P. (Mag.) Goal. ined.
IV p
CXVI
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea
Laurenziana
P.Laur. inv. 54
VF
CXVII
Munich, Bayerische
Staatsbibliothck,
Handschriftenabtciiung
P.Mon.Gr. inv. 216
r
CXVIII
Barcelona, Seminario di pa-
pirologia . . . San Cugat del
Valles
P. Palau Rib. inv. 200
before X p ?
CXIX
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea
Laurenziana
P. Laur. Ill 57 (PL 11/52)
IIF
exx
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea
Laurenziana
P.Laur. m 58 (PL 111/443)
IIF
CXXI
Milan, Universita Cattolica di
Milano
P.Med. inv. 71.58
III P /IV P
CXXII
Berlin, Staatliche Museen
P.Berol. inv. 21243
i*/f
CXXIIIa-f
Pisa, Universita di Pisa
P. Cazzaniga , nos. 1-6
v p
CXXIV
Pisa, Universita di Pisa
P.Cazzaniga, no. 7
v p
CXXVa-f
Pisa, Universita di Pisa
P Cazzaniga , nos. 8—13
yp-VF
CXXVI
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea
Laurenziana
P.Laur. III/472
v p
CXXVII
Yale, Yale University Library
P.Tale inv. 1206
IIF or IV p
CXXVIII
Heidelberg, Universitats-
Papyrussammlung
P.Heid.G. 1386
V p
CXXIX
Berlin, Sammlung des Agyp-
tischen Museums (?)
PBerol. 21260
IIF
exxx
Ann Arbor, University' of
Michigan
P.Mich. inv. 6666
IIF
PDM
Supplement
Paris, Muscc du Louvre
P.Louwe E3229
IIF
Note on Editions
For the editions of the Greek papyri as cited, see the bibliography in E. G. Turner,
Greek Papyri , an Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2 1980), pp. 154—
77, with the following exceptions:
PGM XC: A. Traversa, Aegyptus 33
(1953): 57-62
PGM XCVI: R. W. Daniel, ZPE 25
(1977) : 150-53
PGM XCVII-CI: D. Wortmann, Bo] 168
(1968): 85- 1 II
PGM CV— CVT: W. Brashear, ZPE 17
(1975): 25-33
PGM CVII-CVIII: R. Daniel, ZPE 19
(1975): 249-64
PGM CIX: P. Gorissen, ZPE 37
(1980): 199-200
PGM CX-CXII: Z. M. Packman, BASP 13
(1976): 175-80
PGM CXIII: P. J. Sijpesteijn, ZPE 22
(1976) : 108
PGM CXIV-CXV: R. W. Daniel, ZPE 25
(1977) : 145—54
PGM CXVI: R. Pintaudi, ZPE 26
(1977) : 245-48
PGM CXVI I: P. Fabrini and F. Maltomini,
in A. Carlini, ed., Papiri Letterari Greci
(Pisa; Giardini, 1978), no. 34
PGM CXVIII: J. O’Callaghan, StPapy 17
(1978): 85-87
PGM CXIX-CXX: R. Pintaudi, Dai Papiri
della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
(P.Laur. Ill ), Papyrologica Florentina 5
(Firenze: Gonnelii, 1979), nos. 57-58
PGM CXXI: G. Geraci, Aegyptus 33
(1979): 63-72
PGM CXXII: W. Brashear, ZPE 33
(1979): 261-78
PGM CXXIII-CXXV : F. Maltomini, Studi
Classici e Orientali 29 (1979) : 55- 124
PGM CXXVI: E Maltomini, in R. Pin-
taudi, cd., Dai Papiri della Biblioteca
Medicea Laurenziana (P.Laur. TV), Pa-
pyrologica Elorentina 12 (Firenze: Gon-
nelli, 1983): 46-53
PGM CXXVII: G. M. Parassoglou,
HeUenica 27 (1974) : 251-53
PGM CXXVIII-CXXIX: F. Maltomini,
Studi Classici e Orientali 31
(1981): 111-117
PGM CXXX: R. W. Daniel, ZPE 50
(1983): 147-54
For the Demotic magical papyri, see Janet H. Johnson’s Introduction to the De-
motic Magical Papyri below, pp. 00—00. The editions are accordingly:
PDM xii: J. H. Johnson, OMRM 56
(1975): 29-64
PDM xiv: F. Li. Griffith and H. Thompson,
The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London
and Leiden, 3 vols. (London: Grevcl,
1904)
PDM Ixi: Bell, Nock, and Thompson , Mag-
ical Texts
PDM Supplement-. J. H. Johnson, Enchoria 7
(1977) : 55-102
Explanation of References
and Textual Signs
PGM I. References cited thus refer to translations of the corresponding
262—347 Greek text of Preisendanz’s Papyri Graeme Magicae, with each
roman numeral (including those widi appended letters, e.g.,
PGM Va) corresponding to a separate papyrus manuscript. Ro-
man numerals after PGM LXXXI refer to texts whose transla-
tions are based on editions published since, and sometimes
overlooked by, Preisendanz. The bibliographies of these edi-
tions are mentioned in the introductory note (*) to each spell.
Arabic numerals usually delineate the compass of individual
spells within the papyrus manuscript. The use of the separate
designations for each independent spell or charm represents a
new feature designed to enable easy identification and ready
reference to an individual spell.
PDM xxi. 6-20 References listed thus refer to Demotic (bilingual) spells corre-
sponding to the texts whose editions are listed in the introduc-
tory note (*) to each spell. PDM stands for Papyri Demoticae
Magicae , referring to this volume and not to be confused with
DMP , an abbreviation for Griffith and Thompson, Demotic
Magical Papyri , a work often referred to in the notes. Lower-
case roman numerals are used simply to avoid confusion with
spells labeled PGM. Arabic numerals are used as above.
[PGM XII. PGM references bracketed thus come immediately after refer-
445-48] ences for bilingual Greek sections with die given spell. The ref-
erences correspond to the appropriate Greek portions in Prei-
sendanz, whose edition contained only the Greek sections of
the Greek/Demotic spells. Since this translation volume con-
tains all the Demotic spells, Preisendanz’s numbering system is
retained, but it is subsumed under the new Demotic collation.
A,b,c Texts set in roman type represent spells and portions of spells
whose original language was Greek.
A,b,c Texts set with leader dots beneath represent spells and portions
of spells whose original language was Demotic (Egyptian).
A,b,c Texts with a thin underscore represent spells and portions of
spells whose original language was Old Coptic. Coptic is found
both in the Greek texts of Preisendanz’s edition and as glosses
in portions of the Demotic/Greek bilingual spells; however, the
purely Coptic magical spells form a separate corpus not dealt
with in this volume.
xxxii
*
Tr.:
Victory spell:
Spell to be
spoken
IAO SABAOTH
ADONAI
35 [5]
30 (4)
References and Textual Signs
An asterisk introduces an independent spell or a spell that con-
tains most of the constituent parts necessary to effect the whole
charm, though organic connections with adjacent spells can be
recognized (e.g., spells entitled “ Another . . . or the like).
The asterisk directs the reader to the contributor, whose name
is given at the end of the spell. Some introductory comments
may be found here as well. Bibliographical data, if appropriate,
may also be listed.
This abbreviation stands for “translator” or “transcriber” (if
the text contains no recognizable words that can be translated).
Phrases set in roman boldface type refer to general titles of
charms which usually stand at the beginning of the spell and
which are often followed by one or more subtitles. Many spells
do not possess a title, either because of a scribal omission or
because it has been lost in a lacuna in the text.
Phrases set in italic boldface type refer to various subtitles and a
number of types of rubrics (subsumed under the main tide)
that function in a titular sense to introduce a component fea-
ture of a spell. These may introduce ingredients, additional in-
structions, invocations, figures, magical names and characters,
and so on, which are mentioned in the instructions in the text.
In a long, multifunctional spell (cf. PGM IV. 2145-2240 and
PGM XIII. 1—343), general tides are subordinate to the larger
dtie, which describes an often elaborate ritual. In description,
these general tides are identical to the main tides of most spells
but are set as subtitles since they usually depend on a prior set
of conditions to guarantee their efficacy.
Small capital letters indicate magical names (voces magime)
which are usually untranslatable and often meaningless to the
reader. In some instances, small capital letters preserve recog-
nizable Greek, Egyptian, or Semitic words that merit special at-
tention. Portions of texts whose fragmentary nature precludes
the possibility of proper translation, but which may in fact have
been readable in the original, are also set in small capitals.
A diagonal slash indicates every fifth line of translated text, cor-
responding to the number given in the left-hand margin. Usu-
ally these are numbered consecutively until a new papyrus num-
ber is introduced.
A bracketed number alongside the regular number refers to the
line number of the original edition (in a Greek/Demotic text).
Occasionally at the beginning the column number and line are
also cited (e.g., [Col. Ill, 5].
A number in parentheses refers to the original line of Preisen-
danz in a Greek/Demotic spell. The number corresponds to the
PGM reference given within the bracketed number at the head
of the spell.
References and Textual Signs xxxiii
An ellipsis in the body of the text refers to a lost portion re-
gardless of the size of the lacuna. Some punctuation (e:g., a
comma or a period) may also be added at the end of the ellipsis.
[spell] Brackets enclosing words indicate that the words are not pre-
served in the original text. These include (1) suggested res-
torations of lacunae; (2) editorial expansions of the text to
elucidate the sense of the original language; and (3) phrases
traditionally ser off by pointed brackets { ), namely, modern
corrections to scribal omissions or errors. Scholars interested
in determining which use the bracketed text refers to are rec-
ommended to consult the texts of the original editions. As a
general rule, bracketed cexrs will not divide a word, but will
surround the whole word if its reading is fairly uncertain.
(add the usual) Parentheses enclosing words simply indicate material in the
. original texts best understood as parenthetical comments of the
ancient authors and redactors.
“Come to Quotation marks enclosing words indicate material diat is
me . . spoken (or intended to be spoken) or written (or intended to
be written). Material not enclosed in quotation marks usually
refers to parts of a formulary' that contain, instructions and di-
rections apart from the material to be written or spoken. Such
instructions are peculiar to the papyri that have preserved mag-
ical formularies, whereas the actual amulets and phylacteries
found on papyrus usually contain simple invocations that have
been transcribed as a result of following the instructions in
such magical handbooks.
Incantations originally written in Greek meter are set as verse,
that is, they are indented en bloc , with the first letter of each line
capitalized. In cases where the meter falters within such a hynv
nic portion, the original margin is restored to indicate prose.
NN In the magical formularies, this abbreviation stands for a name
or names to be inserted by the reader, the names of the persons
against or for whom the magic: is to be carried out. In rite case
of “(the) NN matter,” the reader understands that specific re-
quests are to be named at diis point.
[R.K.R. | At the end of each footnote, the bracketed initials refer to the
contributing scholar responsible for the material immediately
preceding. Notes that carry no initials represent the joint ef-
forts of the contributors and scholars.
Abbreviations of Periodicals,
Series Titles, and
General Reference Works
AJA
American Journal of Archaeology
AKA
Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte
APAW
Abhandlungen der (K.) preussischen Akademie dev
Wissenschaften
APAW.PH
Philosophisch-historische Klasse
ANET
J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Related to the Old
Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969)
ANRW
Aufstieg and Niedcrgang derrbmischen Welt
ARW
Archivfur Religionswissenschaft
BASP
Bulletin of the American Society ofPapyrologists
Bauer
W. Bauer, W. F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-
English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Chris-
tian Literature. 2d ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1979)
BCH
Bulletin de correspondance hellenique
BIFAO
Bulletin de PInstitut Frangais cPArcheologie Orientaie, Le Caire
Bo J
Bonner Jahrbiicher
Bonnet, RARG
Hans Bonnet, Reallexikon der dgyptischen Religionsgeschichte
(Berlin: de Gruyter, 1952)
ByZ
Byzantinische Zeitschrift
CAH
Cambridge Ancient History
CEg
Chronique d’Egypte
Cerny, Coptic
J. Cerny, Coptic Etymological Dictionary (Cambridge: Cam-
Etymological
Dictionary
bridge University, 1976)
CIR
Classical Review
Crum, Coptic
Dictionary
W. E. Crum, A Coptic Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon, 1962)
DMP
Demotic Magical Papyri (see Griffith and Thompson)
EPRO
E tudes preliminaries aux religions orient ales dans P empire romain
Erman and
A. Erman and H. Grapow, W drier bach der aegyptischen Sprache
Grapow,
im Auftrage der deutschen Akademicn 5 vols. (Berlin:
Worterbuch
Akademie- Verlag, 1971 repr.)
GGA
Gottingische gelehrte Anzeigen
GM
Gottinger Miszellen
HR
History of Religions
HSCP
Harvard Studies in Classical Philology
HTR
Harvard Theological Review
JAC
Jahrbuch fur Antike und Christentmn
JBL
Journal of Biblical Literature
xxxvi
Periodicals, Series Titles, Reference Works
JEA
JHS
JNES
JWCI
KP
Kropp, Koptische
Zaubertexte
LCL
LdA
LSJ
N.F.
NHSt
NTS
OMRM
Orph. Frag.
P.Oxy.
PDM
PGM
PRE
PRES
Preisendanz
RAC
RARG
RhM
Roscher
RW
SCHNT
SO
StPapy
TAPA
TDNT
TU
WSt
ZAS
ZPE
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
Journal of Hellenic Studies
Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institute
Der kleine Pauly
A. M. Kropp, Ausgewahlte Koptische Zaubertexte 3 vols.
(Brussels: Fondation Reine Elisabeth, 1930—31)
Loeb Classical Library
Lexikon der Agyptologie, ed. by W. Helck and E. Otto
(Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1975— )
Liddel- Scott- Jones, A Greek-English Lexikon (Oxford: Claren-
don, 1968)
NeueFolge
Nag Hammadi Studies
Novum Testamentum, Supplements
Oudbeidku ndige mededelingen uit het rijksmuseum van oudheden
te Leiden
O rphicorum Fragment a^ ed. O. Kem (Dublin and Zurich:
Weidmann, 3 1972)
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus
Papyri Demoticae Magicae (as cited in this volume only)
Papyri Graecae Magicae. Die Griechischen Zauberpapyri , 2 vols.,
ed. K. Preisendanz, et al. (Stuttgart: Teubner, 2 1973— 74)
Pauly- Wissowa, Real-Encydopadie der dassischen
Altertumswissenschaften
Pauly -Wissowa, Real-Encydopadie der dassischen Alter -
tumsmssensch often , Supplementa
See PGM ; on Preisendanz, vol. Ill, see the Introduction be-
low, n. 37
Re allexikon fur Antike und Christentum
See Bonnet, RARG
Rheinisches Museum fur Philologie
W. H. Roscher, Ausfuhrliches Lexicon der griechischen und
romischen Mythologie
Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten
Studio od Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti
Symbolae Osloenses
Studio papyrologica
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological
Association
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristhchen
Literatur
Wiener Studien
Zeitschnft fur dgyptische Sprache mid Altertumskunde
Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik
Abbreviations of Major Titles
Used in This Volume
Ancient authors are cited with name and tide, the latter following die customary
abbreviations. In cases of doubt, see LSJ, pp. xvi— xxxviii: “Authors and Works.”
Abt, Apologie
Audollent, Dejixionum Tabellae
Bell, Nock, and Thompson,
Magical Texts
Bergman, Ich bin Isis
Berthelot and Ruelle, Collection
des anciens alchimistes grecs
Blau, Das altjiidische Zauberwesen
Betz, “The Delphic Maxim”
Betz, “Fragments”
Betz, Lukian
Bleeker, Hathor and Thoth
Bonner, SMA
Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian
Magical Texts
Bousset, Hauptprobleme
A. Abt, Die Apologie des Apideius von
Madaura and die antike Zauberei. Bcitrage
zur Erlauterung der Schrift de magia
(Giessen: Topelmann, 1908)
A. Audollent, Deflxionum Tabellae quotquot
innotummt . . . (Paris: Fontemoing, 1904)
H. I. Bell, A. D. Nock, and Herbert
Thompson, Magical Texts from a B ilingual
Papyrus in the British Museum (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1933)
J. Bergman, Ich bin Isis. Studien zum
memphitischen Hintergrund der griechischen
Isisaretologien, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis 3
(Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1968)
M. Berthelot and C.-E. Ruelle, Collection des
anciens alchimistes grecs (Paris: Steinheil,
1888)
L. Blau, Das altjiidische Zauberwesen
(Strassburg: Triibner, 1898)
H. D. Betz, “The Delphic Maxim ‘Know
Yourself’ in the Greek Magical Papyri,” HR
21 (1981): 156-71
H. D. Betz, “Fragments from a Catabasis
Ritual in a Greek Magical Papyrus,” HR 19
(1980): 287-95
H. D. Betz, Lukian von Samosata und das
Neue Testament, TU 76 (Berlin: Akademie-
Verlag, 1961)
C. J. Bleeker, Hathor and Thoth (Leiden:
Brill, 1973)
C. Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets Chiefly
Graeco-Egyptian (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1950)
j. F. Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian Magical
Texts, Nisaba 9 (Leiden: Brill, 1978)
W. Bousset, Hauptprobleme der Gnosis (Got-
tingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1907)
xxxviii
Major Titles Used in This Volume
Bousset, Religimsgeschichtliche
Studien
Budge, Amulets and Talismans
Burkert, Griechische Religion
Cook, Zeus
Darby, Food: The Gift of Osiris
Deissmann, Light from the
Ancient East
Delatte, Anecdota Atheniensia
Delatte and Derchain, Les intailles
Dicterich, Abraxas
Dieterich, Mithrasliturgie
Dornseiff, Das Alphabet
Faulkner, Coffin Texts
Festugierc, La revelation
Gager, Moses in Greco-Roman
Paganism
Gardiner, Onomastica
Ginzbcrg, The Legends of the Jews
Griffith and Thompson, The
W. Bousset, Religionsgeschichtliche Studien.
Aufsdtze zur Religionsgeschichte des hellen-
istischen Zeit alters. ed. A. F. Verhcule, NT.S
50 (Leiden: Brill, 1979)
E. A. Wallis Budge, Amulets and Talismans
(New York: Dover, 1978)
W. Burkert, Giiechische Religion der archa-
ischen und Klassischen Epoch e, Die Religionen
der Menschheit 15 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer,
1977)
A. B. Cook, Zeus: A Study in Ancient Reli-
gion, 3 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, 1914-40)
W. T. Darby et ah. Food: The Gift of Osiris,
2 vols. (London, New York, and San Fran-
cisco: Academic Press, 1977)
A. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978, repr.)
A. Delatte, Anecdota Atheniensia, vol. I
(Paris: Champion, 1927)
A. Delatte and Ph. Derchain, Les intailles
magiques greco-egyptiennes de la Bibliotheque
Nationale (Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale,
1964)
A. Dieterich, Abraxas. Studien zur Reli-
gionsgeschichte des spdtern Altertums (Leipzig:
Teubner, 1891)
A. Dieterich, Fine Mithrasliturgie
(Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche
Buchgesellschaft, 3 1966)
F. Dornseiff, Das Alphabet in Mystik und
Magie (Leipzig: Teubner, 2 1925)
R. O. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Coffin
Texts , 3 vols. (Warminster, England: Aris
and Phillips, 1973— 78)
A. J. Festugiere, La revelation d’Hermes Tris -
megiste , 4 vols. (Paris: Societe d’cdition “Les
belles lettres,” 3 1981)
J. G. Gager, Moses in Greco-Ronum Paganism,
Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series
16 (Nashville and New York: Abingdon,
1972)
A. H. Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Onomas-
tica, 2 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1947)
L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews , 7 vols.
(Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication So-
ciety of America, 1909-38)
F. LI. Griffith and H. Thompson, eds., The
Major Titles Used in This Volume
Leyden Papyrus
XXXIX
Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et
Osiride
Griffiths, The Isis-Book
Gundel, Astrologumena
Gundel, Dekane and
Dekansternbilder
Harris, Minerals
Hopfner, OZ
Hornung, Das Amduat
Johnson, “Dialect”
Johnson , Verbal System
Klauck, Herrenmahl
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian
Literature
Morenz, Egyptian Religion
Nilsson, GGR
Nock, Essays
Leyden Papyrus: An Egyptian Magical Book
(New York: Dover, 1974; repr. of 1904 ed.)
J. G. Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et Osinde
(Cambridge: University of Wales Press,
1970)
J. G. Griffiths, Apuleius ofMadauros: The Isis-
Book ( Metamorphoses , Book XI), EPRO 39
(Leiden: Brill, 1975)
W. Gundel and H. G. Gundel, Astrolo-
gumena. Die astrologische Literatur in der
Antike mid ihre Geschichte, Sudhqffs Archiv 6
(Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1966)
W. Gundel, Dekane und Dekansternbilder
(Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buch-
gesellschaft, 2 1969)
J. R. Harris, Lexicographical Studies in Ancient
Egyptian Minerals, Deutsche Akademie der
Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Institutfur Orient-
forschung, 54 (Berlin: Akademie- Verlag,
1961)
T. Hopfner, Griechisch-dgyptischer Offen-
barungszauber , 2 vols., Studien zurPalaeo-
araphie und Papyruskunde, 21, 23 (Leipzig:
Haessel, 1921, 1924)
£. Hornung, Das Amduat oder die Sclmft des
verborgenen Raumes , 3 vols., Agyptologische
Abhandlungen 7; 13 (Wiesbaden: Har-
rassowitz, 1963—67)
J. H. Johnson, “The Dialect of the Demotic
Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden,” in
Studies in Honor of George R. Hughes , January
12, 1977, ed. by J. H. Johnson and E. F.
Wente (Chicago: The Oriental Institute,
1977), pp. 110-25
J. H. Johnson, The Demotic Verbal System,
Studies in Oriental Civilization 38 (Chicago:
The Oriental Institute, 1976)
H.-J. Klauck, Herrenmahl und hellenistischer
Kult. Eine religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung
zum ersten Korintherbrief NTA, N.F. 15
(Munster: Aschcndorff, 1982)
M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 3
vols. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University
of California Press, 1973—80)
S. Morenz, Egyptian Religion (London:
Methuen, 1973)
M. P. Nilsson, Geschichte dergriechischen Reli-
gion, 2 vols. (Munch cn: Beck, 3 1967, 2 1961)
A. D. Nock, Essays on Religion and the An-
xl
Major Titles Used in This Volume
Nock and Festugiere, Hermes
Trismegiste
Preisigke, Namenbuch
Ranke, Agyptische Personennamen
Reitzenstein, Poimandres
Robinson, The Nag Hammadi
Library in English
Smith, Jesus the Magician
cient World , 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass.: Har-
vard University Press, 1972)
A. D. Nock and A.-J. Festugiere, Hermes
Trismegiste. Corpus Hermeticum , 4 vols.
(Paris: Les belles lettres, 1946-54)
K. Preisigke, Namenbuch (Heidelberg:
Selbstverlag des Herausgebers, 1922)
H. Ranke, Die dgyptischen Personennamen , 2
vols. (Hamburg: Selbstverlag des Verfassers,
1932-52)
R. Reitzenstein, Poimandres. Studien zur
griechisch-dgyptischen u nd friichristl ichen Lite-
ratur (Leipzig: Teubner, 1904)
J. M. Robinson, ed.. The Nag Hammadi Li-
brary in English (Leiden: Brill, 1977)
M. Smith, Jesus the Magician (San Francisco:
Harper and Row, 1978)
Introduction to the
Greek Magical Papyri
Hans Dieter Betz
“The Greek magical papyri 1 ” is a name given by scholars to a body of papyri from
Greco-Roman Egypt containing a variety of magical spells and formulae, hymns
and rituals. The extant texts are mainly from the second century b.c. to the fifth
century a.d. To be sure, this body of material represents only a small number of all
the magical spells that once existed. 1 Beyond these papyri we possess many odier
kinds of material: artifacts, symbols and inscriptions on gemstones, on ostraka and
clay bowls, and on tablets of gold, silver, lead, tin and so forth. 2
I
The history of the discovery of the Greek magical papyri is a fascinating subject. 3
We know from literary sources that a large number of magical books in which spells
were collected existed in antiquity. Most of them, however, have disappeared as the
result of systematic suppression and destruction. The episode about the burning of
the magical books in Ephesus in the Acts of tire Aposdcs (Acts 19 : 10) is well
known and typical of many such instances. According to Suetonius, 4 Augustus or-
dered 2,000 magical scrolls to be burned in the year 13 b.c. Indeed, the first cen-
turies of the Christian era saw many burnings of books, often of magical books,
and not a few burnings that included the magicians themselves.
As a result of these acts of suppression, the magicians and their literature went
underground. The papyri diemselves testify to this by the constantly recurring ad-
monition to keep the books secret. 5 Yet the systematic destruction of the magical
literature over a long period of time resulted in the disappearance of most of the
original texts by the end of antiquity. To us in the twentieth century, terms such as
“underground literature” and “suppressed literature” are well known as descriptions
of contemporary phenomena. We also know that such literature is extremely impor-
tant for the understanding of what people arc really thinking and doing in a par-
ticular time, geographical area, or cultural context. Magical beliefs and practices
can hardly be overestimated in their importance for the daily life of the people. The
religious beliefs and practices of most people were identical with some form of
magic, and the neat distinctions we make today between approved and disapproved
forms of religion— calling the former “religion” and “church” and the latter “magic”
and “cult” — did not exist in antiquity except among a few intellectuals. 6
Thus the suppression of this magical literature has deprived us of one of our most
important sources of ancient religious life. Modem views of Greek and Roman reli-
gions have long suffered from certain deformities because they were unconsciously
shaped by the only remaining sources: the literature of the cultural elite, and the
archeological remains of the official cults of the states and cities.
But not everything was lost. 7 At the end of antiquity, some philosophers and
theologians, astrologers and alchemists collected magical books and spells that were
still available. Literary writers included some of the material in their works, if only
xlii
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri
to make fun of it. It is known that philosophers of the Neopvthagorean and Neo-
platonic schools, as well as Gnostic and Hermetic groups, used magical books and
hence must have possessed copies. But most of their material vanished and what we
have left are their quotations.
The Greek magical papyri are, however, original documents and primary sources.
Their discovery is as important for Greco-Roman religions as is the discovery of the
Qumran texts for Judaism or the Nag Hammadi library for Gnosticism. 8
Like these manuscript discoveries, the discovery of the Greek magical papyri was
and often still is the outcome of sheer luck and almost incredible coincidences. In
the case of the major portion of the collection, the so-called Anastasi collection, the
discovery and rescue is owed to the efforts (and, if one may use the term, coopera-
tion) of two individuals separated by more than a thousand years: the modem col-
lector d’Anastasi and the original collector at Thebes.
In the nineteenth century, there was among the “diplomatic” representatives at
the court in Alexandria a man who called himself Jean d’Anastasi (1780?- 1857).
Believed to be Armenian by birth, he ingratiated himself enough with the pasha to
become the consular representative of Sweden. 9 It was a time when diplomats and
military men often were passionate collectors of antiquities, and M. d’Anastasi hap-
pened to be at the right place at the right time. He succeeded in bringing together
large collections of papyri from Egypt, among them sizable magical books, some of
which he said he had obtained in Thebes. 10 These collections he shipped to Europe,
where they were auctioned off' and bought by various libraries: the British Museum
in London, the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Louvre in Paris, the Staatlichc Mu-
seen in Berlin, and die Rijksmuseum in Leiden. Another papyrus was acquired
by Jean Francois Mimaut (1774-1837), also a diplomat, whose acquisition ended
up in the Bibliotheque Nationale ( PGM III)." Unfortunately, we know almost
nothing about the circumstances of the actual findings. But it is highly likely that
many of the papyri from the Anastasi collection came from the same place, perhaps
a tomb or a temple library. 12 If this assumption is correct, about half a dozen of the
best-preserved and largest extant papyri may have come from the collection of one
man in Thebes. He is of course unknown to us, but we may suppose that he col-
lected the magical material for his own use. Perhaps he was more than a magician.
We may attribute his almost systematic collections of maqica to a man who was also
a scholar, 13 probably philosophically inclined, as well as a bibliophile and archivist
concerned about the preservation of this material. 14
Although the person who collected the Anastasi papyri remains unknown, com-
parable figures are known from later Egyptian literature. In the Demotic Papyrus
no. 30646 in the Cairo Museum, there appears Prince Khamwas, the fourth son of
King Ramses II and high priest of Ptah in Memphis. This legendary figure belongs
to the Stories of the High Priests of 'Memphis , published by Francis Llewelyn Griffith, 15
stories that in many ways can serve as illustrative companions to the Greek magical
papyri. Miriam Lichtheim has given this summary portrait in the third volume of
her Ancient Egyptian Literature:
Prince Khamwas, son of King Ramses II and high priest of Ptah at
Memphis, was a very learned scribe and magician who spent his time in
the study of ancient monuments and books. One day he was told of the
existence of a book of magic written by the god Thoth himself and kept
in the tomb of a prince named Naneferkaptah (Na-nefer-ka-ptah), who
lived in the distant past and was buried somewhere in the vast nec-
ropolis of Memphis. After a long search, Prince Khamwas, accom-
xliii
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri
panied by his foster brother Inaros, found the tomb of Naneferkaptah
and entered it. He saw the magic book, which radiated a strong light,
and tried to seize it. But the spirits of Naneferkaptah and of his wife
Ahwcre rose up to defend their cherished possession. . . , 16
The collection of the Anastasi papyri, if it was brought together by one per-
son, mav have been buried with him, either in his tomb or in the rubble of col-
lapsed buildings. At any rate, when d’ Anastasi came to Thebes and the papyri were
offered to him, he sensed their value and acquired them, thus saving them from
destruction.
It took almost another century, however, before scholars learned to appreciate
the value of the papvri and started investigating them. It is noteworthy that the
auction catalog of d’Anastasi’s collection calls the material simply “fromage mys-
tique.” 17 Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the papyri were stored in the
museums simply as curiosities.
Scholarly investigations began when the great Dutch scholar Caspar Jacob Chris-
tiaan Reuvens (1793—1835) described some of the content of the Leiden papyrus
J 395 ( PGM XIII) in his Lettres a M. Letronne published in 1830. 18 This work was
reviewed almost immediately by the German historian of religion Karl Otfried
Muller (1797-1840), who also translated Reuvens’s excerpts into German. 19 But
Reuvens died before his edition of the Leiden papyri could appear. It was forty
years before another Dutch scholar, the Egyptologist Conrad Leemans (1809—93),
published the edition ( PGM XII, XIII) 20 together with a Latin translation (1885). 21
The first publication, however, is due to the efforts of the British scholar Charles
Wycliffe Goodwin (1817-78), who published one of the papyri ( PGM V) to-
gether with an English translation and commentary for the Cambridge Antiquarian
Society in 1853. 22 Then the German philologist Gustav Parthey (1798-1872)
edited the two papyri from Berlin in 1865 ( PGM I, II). 23 A very? important new
phase began when the Viennese papyrologist Carl Wessely (1860— 1931) published
in 1888 a transcription of the great magical papyrus of Paris ( PGM IV), the Lon-
don papyrus ( PGM V), and the Mimaut papyrus ( PGM III), 24 followed in 1889 by
corrections. 25 In 1893 both Wessely 26 and Frederick George Kenyon (1863—
1952) 27 independendy edited and published the magical papyri of London ( PGM
VII-X). The last major papyrus was published in 1925 by the Norwegian scholar
Samson Eitrem (1872— 1966), 28 who had acquired in Egypt a valuable magical
scroll with many drawings ( PGM XXXVI).
With these important publications, the major pieces of the Greek magical papyri
known to this period had become available. It seems to have been a suggestion first
made by die great scholar of Greek religion, Albrecht Dieterich (1866-1908), that
all the available papyri should be published in a handy study edition. But this idea
developed only gradually after Dieterich began teaching a seminar on the subject of
the magical papyri at the LTniversity of Heidelberg in 1905. 29
Today it is astonishing to learn that teaching such a seminar at that time was quite
a daring enterprise. Magic was so utterly despised by historians and philologists
that the announcement of the seminar did not mention the word ‘"magic” but was
simply phrased as “Selected Pieces from the Greek Papyri.” 30
How far the dislike of the magical papyri could go is illustrated by a remark made
by Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff: “I once heard a well-known scholar com-
plain that these papyri were found because they deprived antiquity of the noble
splendor of classicism.” 31
Dieterich, 32 however, was at the edge of a wave of interest generated by the new
xiiv
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri
discipline of history of religions. His seminar therefore had a surprising attraction
for students, some of whom wrote their dissertations on related subjects and be-
came contributors to the study edition. The plan for such a study edition was seri-
ously threatened by Dietcrich’s sudden death on 6 May 1908, but the work was
taken over by Dieterich’s students, foremost of whom was Richard Wunsch, chief
editor. Adam Abt, Ludwig Fahz, Adolf Erman, Georg Moller, and other contribu-
tors 33 stepped in to carry on the work.
When the body of the material of PGM I-IV was almost ready. World War I
broke out and interrupted the work. Wunsch, Abt, and Moller were killed in the
war. Despite these terrible losses and the desperate economic situation following
the war, the publisher, B. G. Teubner of Leipzig, did not give up the project, but
decided to start over. The edition was entrusted to Karl Preisendanz (1883-1968),
another of Dietenclis former students. 34 Scholars at that time faced difficulties
scarcely conceivable to us today, yet they persisted. In addition, a remarkable degree
of international cooperation existed among die scholars. 35 Sam Eitrem from Oslo
and Adolf Jacoby from Luxemburg joined the team, and British, French, and Dutch
scholars gave their support to the effort. The Notgemeinschaft der Deutschcn
Wissenschaft as well as other governmental agencies gave financial support, so that
despite all die problems the first volume of the first edition of the Papyri Gmecae
Magicae could appear in 1928, with a second volume following in 1931. 36
While all this was happening, new magical papyri were being discovered and
published. A third volume, which was also supposed to contain extensive indexes,
therefore became necessary. But this volume never appeared, for World War II
broke out.
Despite the war, the work had progressed to the actual production of galley
proofs, with the preface dated “Pentecost, 1941,” 37 when on 4 December 1943 the
publishing house of Teubner in Leipzig was bombed and everything was de-
stroyed. 38 Fortunately, however, the galley proofs survived the war and are at pres-
ent being used by a number of scholars in the form of xerox copies. When Karl
Preisendanz, the editor of the first edition and tireless promoter of the study of the
Greek magical papyri before and after World War II, died on 26 April 1968, the
publishing house of Teubner, which had in part been relocated in Stuttgart, West
Gennany, decided to bring out a new edition. This new edition was prepared by
Albert Henrichs, a papyrologist from Cologne, who has been on the faculty of
Harvard University since 1973. 39 It appeared in two volumes in 1973— 74. 40 The
first volume is mostly a reprint of the first edition, though many corrections have
been made. The second volume, however, is considerably different from the first
edition. A number of papyri were reedited completely, and the papyri originally
planned to appear in vol. Ill were added so that vol. II of the 1974 edition contains
all pieces up to PGM LXXXI. The idea of a third volume containing the indexes was
postponed because all indexes would have to be redone in view of the changes and
additions in the material.
II
What is the significance of the Greek magical papyri? Scholars since Albrecht Dic-
terich have consistently pointed out the importance of the Greek magical papyri to
the study of ancient religions; thus we can limit ourselves here to a summary of the
issues. 41
Historians of religion are intrigued by the Greek magical papyri for a number of
reasons. If, as Dieterich rightly says, 42 the papyri are a depository of a great reli-
xiv
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri
gious literature over many centuries, the recovery of the sources becomes a task of
primary interest. In fact, throughout these sources we find citations of hymns, ritu-
als, formulae from liturgies otherwise lost, and little bits of mythology called histo-
riolcie. These older materials are now embedded in a secondary context, but by care-
ful application of the methods of literary criticism they are often recoverable . 48
Taken as a whole, the material presents a plethora of interesting problems for
modern scholarship. One must realize first that the material assembled under the
name Greek magical papyri represents a collection of texts of diverse origin and
nature. This collection includes individual spells and remedies, as well as collections
made by ancient magicians, from the early Hellenistic period to late antiquity.
Since the material comes from Greco- Roman Egypt, it reflects an amazingly broad
religious and cultural pluralism. Not surprising is the strong influence of Egyptian
religion throughout the Greek magical papyri, although here the texts nevertheless
show a great variety. Expressed in Greek, Demotic, or Coptic, some texts represent
simply Egyptian religion. In others, the Egyptian element has been transformed by
Hellenistic religious concepts. Most of the texts arc mixtures of several religions —
Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, to name the most important.
The picture presented by the Greek magical papyri has been changed substan-
tially by the inclusion of the translation of the Demotic magical papyri. In Preisen-
danz’s edition, the Demotic material was deleted, even when it occurred in the same
papyrus as Greek sections apparently written by the same scribe. The inclusion of
the Demotic material in the present translation raises new and intriguing questions
regarding the relationship between the Greek texts and the antecedent Egyptian
sources. Further studies must clarify the process of transmission and transforma-
tion of these texts. Such studies will gain new insights into the complex phenomena
of the hellenization of religious traditions. (See also die Introduction to the De-
motic texts below.)
Another interesting problem is posed by the fact that this material from Greco-
Roman Egypt contains many sections that are Greek in origin and nature . 44 How
did this older Greek religious literature find its way into Egypt? We do not, and
probably never shall, know. In this older material, the Greek gods are alive and well.
But Zeus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, and others arc portrayed not as
Hellenic and aristocratic, as in literature, but as capricious, demonic, and even dan-
gerous, as in Greek folklore . 45 The gods and their activities resemble those in the
popular myths and local cults, as reported by mythographers or by Pausanias.
Therefore, strange as it may sound, if we wish to study Greek folk religion, die
magical papyri found in Egypt are to be regarded as one of the primary sources. 4 *
Questions similar to those appropriate to the study of Greek religion must be
raised in view of the material (divine names as well as entire passages) that comes
from some form of Judaism. Jewish magic was famous in antiquity , 4 and more
sources have come to light in recent years; but the origin and nature of the sections
representing Jewish magic in the Greek magical papyri is far from clear. Did this
material actually originate with Jewish magicians? How did it get into the hands of
the magicians who wrote the Greek magical papyri? What kind of transformation
took place in the material itself? If the texts in question come from Judaism, what
type of Judaism do they represent?
The historian of religion will be especially interested in the kind of syncretism
represented in the Greek magical papyri . 48 This syncretism is more than a mixture of
diverse elements from Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian, and Jewish religion, with a few
sprinkles of Christianity . 49 Despite the diversity of texts, there is in the whole cor-
xlvi
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri
pus a tendency toward assimilation and uniformity. Such assimilation and unifor-
mity, however, includes primarily the religious traditions already mentioned: the
Romans, although in control of Egypt by the time most of the papyri were written,
left only a few traces in the material. Thus the papyri represent a Greco-Egyptian,
rather than the more general Greco- Roman, syncretism.
In this syncretism, the indigenous ancient Egyptian religion has in part survived,
in part been profoundly hellenized . 50 In its Hellenistic transformation, the Egyp-
tian religion of the pre-Hellenistic era appears to have been reduced and simplified,
no doubt to facilitate its assimilation into Hellenistic religion as the predominant
cultural reference. It is quite clear that the magicians who wrote and used the Greek
papyri were Hellenistic in outlook.
Hellenization, however, also includes the egvptianizing of Greek religious tradi-
tions. The Greek magical papyri contain many instances of such egvptianizing
transformations, which take very different forms in different texts or layers of tradi-
tion. Again, working out the more exact nature of this religious and cultural inter-
action remains the task of future research.
The papyri also provide many insights into the phenomenon of the magician as a
religious functionary, in both the Egyptian and die Hellenistic setting. One must
be cautious, however, in making generalizing statements in regard to die figure of
the magician in the Greek magical papyri . 51 Some of the magicians writing and
using the spells may have been associated with temples of Egyptian and Greek dei-
ties. According to Egyptian practice, the magician was a resident member of the
temple priesthood. Genuine understanding of the older Egyptian and Greek lan-
guages and traditions can be assumed in some of the material, but by no means in
all instances.
There are texts reflecting perhaps a different type of magician, a type we know
from the Greek religious milieu . 52 This type of wandering craftsman seems keen to
adopt and adapt every religious tradition that appeared useful to him, while the
knowledge and understanding of what he adopted was characterized by a certain
superficiality. This type of magician no longer understood the old languages, al-
though he used remnants of them in transcription. He recited and used what must
at one time have been metrically composed hymns; but he no longer recognized the
meter, and he spoiled it when he inserted his own material. In the hands of magi-
cians of this type, the gods from the various cults gradually merged, and as their
natures became blurred, they often changed into completely different deities. For
these magicians, there was no longer any cultural difference between the Egyptian
and the Greek gods, or between them and the Jewish god and the Jewish angels;
and even Jesus was occasionally assimilated into this truly ‘'ecumenical” religious
syncretism of foe Hellenistic world culture.
We should make it clear, however, that this syncretism is more than a hodge-
podge of heterogeneous items. In effect, it is a new religion altogether, displaying
unified religious attitudes and beliefs. As an example, one may mention the enor-
mously important role of the gods and goddesses of the underworld. The role of
these underworld deities was not new to Egyptian religion or, to some extent, to
ancient Greek religion; but it is characteristic of foe Hellenistic syncretism of the
Greek magical papyri that the netherworld and its deities had become one of its
most important concerns. The goddess Hekate, identical with Persephone, Selene,
Artemis, and the old Babylonian goddess Ereschigal, is one of the deities most
often invoked in the papyri. Through the egvptianizing influence of Osiris, Isis,
and their company, other gods like Hermes, Aphrodite, and even the Jewish god
jo guioS pup Suiuiod Dtp qSnoaqa ‘Xaoasiq anoqSnoaqa pDAiAans spq at [pijoiuduiuji
diuu luojj jpqj dtSpui jjv jo SDfzznd Dip jo 3110 si aj uiousDnb jpuq duo dsipj ox
sc 'S{nos DutosDjqnoaa pup ‘pojqnoaa ‘pDiaaoM 40 uidSb pup asidpjDqa DSodand-f|B
pup ‘SDSptUPp 40 JDJDipUl pup JD|BDq DpPijUI ‘jdSpUBUJ SISIJD ‘jJDdXD SUOUBDIUnimUOD
pup jDA\od p sp pDAJDS ubidiSbiu Dqa qDiqM ui pjjoa\ jo purq sup spm 1; ‘aaoqs 114
•aduouj pup dao | jo sDfqnoaa Dqa jjp ‘osanoojo
‘pup ‘sddbj Dsaoq 01 sSnqpDq 01 dsou Auuna 03 duibjSiui uaoaj SuiipXjDAD ipupjupiu
SumSejd SDiqnoaa Aaaod puvsnoqa p aoj sDipDiuDJ ppq oqAv jda|os uiDjqoad p spm Djq
^•sdiSjdud DjqisiAui Dqa 33 P}ndtuBiu pup ‘DjpjnSDJ ‘dpa pjnoD Df j -pPDp Dqa pire ‘suoui
-op oqa ‘spo§ Dqa qaqvv oaBDiuniuuiOD oa popDDU spaoM Dpoa Dqa avdudj dj-j -oa Djqp
spm Dq ‘suoiSijdj pjo Dip 40 dsuds Dqpui jd^uoj 011 pjnoD D|doDd jDipo D]iqy\ 'SUOlS
-1 pa snouPA 40 suoiaippaa Dqa pupasJDpun pup A\ouq oa pDtuipp uppiSpui Dqx
•auDSDid Dqa jo suiDjqoad Dip dajos oa daijddjjd Dppui
luopstM ‘aspd Dqa 40 rnopsiM pDSUDpuoD Dqa pDuipauOD qatqM ^.‘diSeuj jo sqooqpireq
ppq Dfj 'oa pasn ai Apm Dqa djjom oa pdiudds Suiqaou DjDqM ppoM p ui ytOM sSutqa
Dqpua pjnoD Dq apqa Suijddj Dqa D]doDd daiS pjnoD upoidput Dqa ‘ajpaD siq SutXjddy
Tryyry oa Djqp spm uvoiSbiu
Dqa D|oa siq p 'D|doDd Xapuipao jo sdatj Dip oa Xjissdddu p DiuPDDq jdSpubui stsiid p
sp pDaPJDdo oqAi XaBuoppurij snodfrpa p ‘adXSg upiuo^-oDDjr) Dqq DanapiD jpuoia
-isupaa p iq -DanaDid Dqa saDauD upoiSpui Dqa apqa auiod siqa 3 B si aj < sdatj apqa jo ano
SuiqjDiuos aaS adXxdj 40 suA\oa jpuas Dip ur udujom pup uduli Xapuipao pjnoD mojj
pjq upumq 404 Dq DJDip upd Ddoq apqM ‘DjdoDd jo pjoq soqpa mdia pjjoav sup jj
■sddjoj DjqxsiAin Xq D§pD{A\ouq apqa ano
-qaiM DJDqa pup Djoq pDyjnd ‘sDutj jDMod 40 puD Dqa ap sdj3duoltbuj auq Suiqaou Dq oa
iudds spnpiAtpiq • (DqDAx) DDUPipj jo apasDJ Dip A]uo oq oa aPDddp SDjn|TBj pup sdssdd
-D ns SpjdoDJ -00a c DJ§Unf P SB pDDlJDIJDdxD Dq XjUO UPD DjTJ UPUinq ‘DjSunl aSjdud
sup u] 'DsaDAiim Dqa jo ano Suiiuod sdiSjdud jo DjqtiiBJDs Djqpiuoippjun Dip uo Adudp
-UD dDp ano asureSp uopDPDJ pue jo ssdudjpmp Dqa anq Suupou sp pjp.iuSaj si uoiSqDJ
‘suoiaippaa upiasuip ao ‘qsiAS,D{ ‘^ddjq ‘ireiadXSx luoaj dluod Xoqa aDipDi|A\ ‘mdu ao
pjo djp spoS Dip JDqaDqyv DSJDAiun Dqa jo sddjoj Dqa uo ADUDpuDdDp sup AjsnouDS
Suppa anq Sirtqaou si uoiSip^j ‘dsjdaiuu Dip jo sddjoj Dip jo unqAV Dqa ap A|qi’dio
-sdui st Aatupiuuq apqa ddjSp uAdpd Dqa ui pdidd^dj si uoiSipa DsoqAv Djdood Dqx
•po§ qsuwDf Dqa ‘opj si pDXojdiuD udjjo asoui poS Dqa aD\ uDajo sp asnf uodn
pDqpD ‘jdadmoij ‘djp SDssDppoS pup spo§ uppd/CSg apjndoj (uoiy) |fy Dqa ‘aupa
-aoduu asoiu pup ‘(iEaioj\7 Dip) AujasDQ ‘{soiioaipp ‘souoa>j) duiix ‘(sisXqj) Dinipp
AjruosjDd sDiaiDp aDPaasqp DSDqx /uoiauDaap pupuiDp ‘pjo pup a\du ‘sDiaiop aDPaas
-qp ‘Dqtj Dqa pup ‘aPDg Dqa 40 uopp[pasuoD Dqa ‘dudjd§ sp qDns SDiapp jpaasp iDqao
SDpisDg 'pjd upiuog-ODDap Dqa ut uns Dqa jo dtqsaoM Dqa jo uotsupdxD snouiaouD
Dip qaiA\ auDasisuoD aDPj p ‘soipH o[[ody sr pajfOAUi udjjo asoiu po§ ^ddj 0 Dqa s-nqx
•DSJDAiun Dqa 40 sddjoj Dqa auDSDadDa Apsoui a\ou uoDipucd upiadiCSg-ODDap) Dip
jo spoS JDpjo Dqx 'DSJDAiun Dip iptA\ uoppupspj aupaaodiui AjjpnbD up si DJDip ‘sjd
-A\ od pfaoAUDpun Dqa pup qaPDp jo joaauoD Dqa qatA\ uoppupspj sup iuojj aapdy
•qaPDp jo sddjoj Dip pup ‘qaPDp ‘ppo.vuDpun Dqa Suisn
Xq si SDansPDjd AjppoAV pire ssdddus oa apm asDq Dip aPip shsudsuod p st DJDip ‘spaoM
JDipo uj *qaaoj os pup ‘suosaDd aoqao jdao joaauoD ‘Darunj Dqa jo D§pD}A\oiq ‘diupj
‘qjfPDij ‘qap’DAV ‘daoj jo uopisxnbDP Dqa :qaapD uo D41J upuanq jo sjuoS Dqa Suiadiijdb
J04 supdiu aupaaodiui asoua Dip sp pDaicqdxD pup posjoAut AjsnojndnaDsun pup Xpupas
-UOD DJP ‘pPDp Dqa JO sauids Dqa pup SUOUIDp Dip ‘SDiapp ppOAUDplin Dqx 'pPDp Dip
40 ppoA\ Dip pup qjEDp 40 jDqiupipDaup Dip ui suoiaPiao§Du anq Suiqaou jo asisuoD
oa suidds dji[ upuanq ‘jdpj uj SDiaiDp ppoAUDpun DiuoDDq saDDdsD.1 Xupiu ur da pq ‘opj
uXduj [pdiSixv qDDji-) Dip oa uopDnpoaaui
ll.VjX
xlviii
Introduction ro the Greek Magical Papyri
entire religions, the scientific and technological revolutions, and the triumphs of
modem medicine. Despite all these changes, there has always been an unbroken
tradition of magic. Why is magic so irrepressible and ineradicable, if it is also true
that its claims and promises never come truer Or do they? Do people never check up
on the efficiency of magicians?
The answer appears to be that, in general, people are not interested in whether or
not magicians’ promises come true. People want to believe, so they simply ignore
their suspicions that magic mav all be deception and fraud. The enormous role de-
ception plays in human life and society is well known to us . 56 In many crucial areas
and in many critical situations of life, deception is the only method that really
works. As the Roman aphorism sums it up, “Mundus vult decipi, ergo dccipiatur”
(“The world wishes to be deceived, and so it may be deceived”). To an immeasur-
able extent, people’s lives earn' on by what they decide they want to believe rather
than by what they should believe or even know, by what appears to be real rather
than by what is really real, by props and by fads, and by gobbledvgook of this kind
today and that kind tomorrow'.
Magicians are those who have long ago explored these dimensions of the human
mind. Rather than decrying the facts, they have exploited them. Magicians have
known all along that people’s religious need and expectations provide the greatest
opportunity for the most effective of all deceptions. But instead of turning against
religion, as the skeptics among the Greek and Roman philosophers did, the magi-
cians made use of it. After all, magic is nothing but the art of making people believe
that something is being done about those things in life about which we all know
tli at we ourselves can do nothing.
Magic is the art that makes people who practice it fed better rather than worse,
that provides the illusion of security to the insecure, the feeling of help to the help-
less, and the comfort of hope to the hopeless.
Of course, it is all deception. But w'ho can endure naked reality, especially when
there is a way to avoid it? This is why magic has worked and continues to work, no
matter what the evidence may be. Those whose lives depend on deception and de-
lusion and those who provide them have formed a truly indissoluble symbiosis.
Magic makes an unmanageable life manageable for those who believe in it, and a
profession profitable for those who practice die art.
Notes
1. For a survey of the material, see the indispensable work by T. Hopfncr, Griechisch-dgyp-
tischer Offenbarungszauber, 2 vols. (Leipzig: Haessel, 1921, 1924); idem, “Mageia,” PRE
14.1 (1928) : 201—393; S. Sauncron, Le papyrus magique illustre de Brooklyn (Brooklyn Mu-
seum 47.218.156) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970); idem, “Le mondc du magicicn
egyptien,” in Le monde du sorcier, Sources Orientales VII (Paris: Edition du Seuil, 1966)
27—65; J. F. Borghouts, The Magical Texts of Papyrus Leiden I 348 (Leiden: Brill, 1971);
idem, “Magical Texts,” in Textes et Langages de VEgypte Pharmnique\ Hommage a J.-F. Cham-
pollion (Lc Caire: Institut d’Egyptc, 1974), 3:7—19. See also J. F. Borghouts, “Magie,” LdA
3 (1980): 1137-51; H. Altenmullcr, “Magischc Literatur,” LdA 3^(1980) : 1151-62. A
wider range of literature is discussed by D. E. Aune, “Magic in Early Christianity,” ANRW
II. 23. 2 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1980) 1507-57.
2. See the collections by Campbell Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets Chiefly Graeco-
Egyptian , University' of Michigan Studies, Humanistic Series XLIX (Ann Arbor: University'
of Michigan Press, 1950); idem, “Amulets Chiefly in the British Museum,” Hesperia 20
(1951) : 301-45, pis. 96—100; idem, “A Miscellany of Engraved Stones,” Hesperia 23
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri xlix
(1954) : 138-57; A. Delatte and P. Derchain, Les intailles magiques greco-egyptiennes (Paris:
Biblia cheque Na donah, Cabinet des Medailles, 1964). On the larter, see especially the re-
views by H. Sevrig, Syria 42 (1965) :409-10; K. Preisendanz, ByZ 59 (1966) : 388-92; M.
Smith, AJA 71 (1967) : 417-19; A. A. Barb, Gnomon 41 (1969) : 298-307. On the rela-
tionship between gems and papyri see M. Smith, “Relations between Magical Papyri and
Magical Gems,” Papyrologica Bruxellensia 18 (1979) : 129-36; J. Schwartz, “Papyri Graecae
Magicae und magische Gemmen,” in M. J. Vermascren, ed., Die oricntalischen Religionen im
Romerreich , EPRO 93 (Leiden: Brill, 1981) 485—509. For the magical tablets, see A. Au-
doflent, Defixionum tabellae, quotquot innotuerunt . . . praeter Atticas . . . (Paris: Fontemo-
ing, 1904); K. Preisendanz, “Fluchtafel (Dcfixion),” RAC 8 (1972) : 1—29.
3. See especially K. Preisendanz, “Zur Uberlieferungsgeschichte der spatantiken Magic,”
in Aus der Welt des Ruches. Zcntralblatt fur Bibliothekswesen , Beiheft 75 (Leipzig: Hacrasso-
witz, 1951) 223-40.
4. Suetonius, Augustus 31.1. See Hopfher, OZ II, section 67; K. Preisendanz, “Dans le
mondc dc la magie grecque,” Chronique d’Egypte 10 (1935) :336— 37; W. Speyer, “Bticher-
vernichtung,” JAC 13 (1970) : 123— 52, with bibliography.
5. PGM LVTI and LXXII are even written in cryptography. See also my article “The For-
mation of Authoritative Tradition in the Greek Magical Papyri,” in Jewish and Christian Self-
Definition , vol. 3: Self-Definition in the Graeco-Roman World , ed. B. F. Meyer and E. P. Sanders
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982), 161—70.
6. A definition of the notion of magic cannot be attempted here. In order to provide an
adequate definition, the complexities of the notion, its relations with “religion” and “sci-
ence,” and the rather frustrating history and literature of the problem would have to be dis-
cussed first. For a good introduction to the question, sec A. A. Barb, “The Survival of Magic
Arts,” in The Conflict between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century , ed. A. Mo-
migliano (Oxford: Clarendon, 1963) 100-125; G. Widengren, Religionsphdmmenologie
(Berlin: De Gruytcr, 1969) 1-19; cf. also Aune, ANRW 11. 23.2, 1510-16 and G. E. R.
Lloyd, Magic , Reason and Experience , Studies in the Origin and Development of Greek Sci-
ence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979).
7. On the survival of magic, see Barb’s stimulating article mentioned in note 6 above.
Also important for this question is the autobiographical account of the physician Thessalos
and its discussion by J. Z. Smith, “The Temple and the Magician,” in his Map Is Not Territory:
Studies in the History of Religions (Leiden: Brill, 1978) 172—89.
8. For the circumstances connected with the discoveries of the Qumran texts, see F. M.
Cross, The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Biblical Studies (Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday, 1961); for the Nag Hammadi Library, see J. M. Robinson, “The Jung Codex:
The Rise and Fall of a Monopoly,” Religious Studies Review 3 (1977) : 17—30.
9. C. J. C. Reuvens, Lettres a M. Letronne, sur les Papyrus bilingues et Grecs, et sur quelques
autres Monumens Greco-Egyptiens du Musee dAntiq uites de VUniversiti de Leide (Leiden: Lucht-
mans, 1830), 1: “M. le chevalier D’ANASTASY, vice-consul de Suede a Alexandrie.” For
bibliographical information, sec W. R. Dawson, “Anastasi, Sallier, and Harris and Their
Papyri,” /£A 35 (1949) : 158-66.
10. See the remark by F. Lenormant in his catalog of the Anastasi collection entitled
Catalogue d } une collection d’antiquites egyptiennes. Cette collection rassemblee par M. dA nastasi ,
Consul general de Suede a Alexandrie, sera vendue aux encheres publiques Rue de Clichy, N° 76,
les Mardi 23, Mercredi 24, Jeudi 25, Vendredi 26 & Samedi 27 1857 a une heure, etc. (Paris:
Maulde et Renou, 1857) 84: “M. Anastasi, dans ses fouilles a Thebes avait decouvert la bibiio-
theque d’un gnostique egypticn du second siecle, et une partie de cette bibliotheque avait
passe avec sa premiere collection dans le musee de Leide; e’est de la que venait le fameux texte
magique en ecriture demotique et deux petits papyrus grecs plies en forme de livres qui font
plusicurs des plus beaux omements de ce musee.”
11. See J.-F. Dubois, Description des antiquites egyptiennes grecques et romaines, monuments
cophtes et arabes composant la collection de Feu M.J.-F. Mimaut (Paris: Panckoucke, 1837)
PP- vff -
1
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri
12. Cf. the report of another collector who speaks of his “residence of eighteen years at
Thebes, entirely devoted to its objects of antiquity” (p. IX). This man, a Greek named
Giovanni d’Athanasi, from the island of Lemnos, the son of a Cairo merchant, wrote his
storv at the suggestion of English travelers: Giovanni d’Athanasi, A Brief Account of the Re-
searches and Discoveries in Upper Egypt , made under the direction of Henry Salt, Esq., to which is
added a detailed catalogue of Mr. Salt’s collection of Egyptian Antiquities; illustrated with twelve
engravings of some of the most interesting objects, and an enumeration of those articles purchased for
the British Museum (London: John Hearnc, 1836). As d’Athanasi reports, the papyri arc
found mostly in or near tombs; so he says about the Demotic papyri: “they are very rare, and
are found not in die mummies, but in the terra-cotta urns which are found closed up and
buried in the earth around the tombs” (p. 79). See also the Catalogue of the Very .Magnificent
and Extraordinary Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, the Property of Giovanni d’Athanasi, which
will be sold by auction by Mr. Leigh Sotheby, at his house, 3, Wellington Street, Strand, on Monday,
March 13th, 1837, and the Six following Days ( Sunday excepted), at One o’Clock precisely (Lon-
don: J. Davy, 1837) 23-24: “Manuscript Rolls of Papyrus, found in the tombs at Thebes.”
On the whole subject, see Wolfgang Speyer, Bucherfunde in der Glaubenswerbung derAntike
(Gottingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1970), esp. 44ff.: books placed as gifts in tombs.
13. PGMV.z is a loose page stuck into a work on chemistry, the Papyrus graecus Holmiensis
in Stockholm. This indicates that the owner and collector of die magical material also pos-
sessed works on chemistry. See also B. Olsson, “Zwei Papyrusstellen besprochen,” Aegyptus
1.2 (1932) : 355-56; Preisendanz, Papyrusfunde und Papyrusforschung 91-92.
14. See my article mentioned in note 5 above.
15. Francis Llewelyn Griffith, Stories of the High Priests of Memphis, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clar-
endon Press, 1900).
16. Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature , vol. 3: The Late Period (Berkeley and
Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1980) 127; cf. also 8-9. See also Farouk
Gomaa, Chaemwese. Sohn Ramses’ II. und Hoherpriester von Memphis , Agyptologische Abhand-
lungen 27 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1973), esp. 70ff. The papyrus was found in a Chris-
tian (!) tomb in Thebes. It should be noted that die story dealing with the search for the
secret book has a parallel in Pseudo-Democritus, who may be identical with Bolos of Men-
des. According to this text, Democritus went to Memphis where he was received by Ostanes
and his students in the temple of Ptah, but Ostanes died before he initiated Democritus into
his mysteries and handed his secret books over to him. Democritus also brought up the
shadow of Ostanes from Hades and asked him about the books. Ostanes replied that they
were in the temple, where they were finally discovered. Both names occur also in PGM (De-
mocritus: VII.167, 795; XII. 351; Ostanes: IV.2006; XII. 122). The text is given in J. Bidez
and F. Cumont, Les mages hellenises II (Paris: Societe d’edition “Les belles lettres 1938)
317-18; see J. H. Waszink, “Bolos,” RAC 2 (1954) : 502— 8; Speyer, Bucherfunde 26—27,
72- 73.
17. Lenormant, Catalogue 87 about PGM IV: “En tete sont trois pages de copte, qui
debutent par I’histoire d’un fromage mystique pour la composition duquel s’associent Osiris,
Sabaoth, lao, Jesus et tous les autres eons. Ce fromage n’est autre que la g nose 7
18. See note 9 above.
19. GGA , 56. Stuck, den 9. April 1831, pp. 545-54. Muller remarks (p. 547): “Es gibt
wohl keine Urkunde, die es so deutlich machte, wie die Magic, dicse Seuche der Geister, vor
ailem in Aegypten sich entwickelt, und von dem altcn Religionssystem dieses Volkes aus-
gehend, mit Huife mctaphysischer Speculationen und verworrener Naturkenntnisse, sich zu
cinem Schrecken erregenden Umfange ausgebildet habe.”
20. Leemans’s edition was based upon Reuvens’s manuscript. See Preisendanz, “Zut
Uberlieferungsgeschichte,” 225 n.I3.
21. C. Lcemans, Papyri graeci musei antiquarii publics Ltigduni-B atari. Regis augustissimi
jussu edidit, interpretationem latinam , annotationem , indicem et tabulas addidit C. L., 2 vols.
(Lugduni Ratavorum: Brill, 1843, 1885). On Leemans, see L’Egyptologue Conrnde Lcemans
et son correspondetice. Contribution d I’histoire d’une science, a Poccasion du cent-cinquantieme an-
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri li
niversaire du dechiffrement des kieroqlyphes et du centennaire lies Congres des Orientalistes ( Lei*
den: Brill, 1973).
22. C. W. Goodwin, Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic: From a Papyrus in the
British Museum , Edited for the Cambridge Antiquarian Society , with a Translation and Notes.
Publications of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, no. II (Cambridge: Deighton, 1852).
23. G. Parthey, “Zwei griechische Zau her papyri des Berliner Museums,” Philologische
und historische Abhandlungen der Kgl. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1865 (Berlin:
Kgl. Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1866) 109-80.
24. C. Wessely, “Griechische Zauberpapyrus von Paris und London,” Denkschriften der
Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien , philosophisch-historische Klasse 36 (1888) : 27— 208. On
Wcssely’s achievements in particular, see H. Gcrstingcr, Aegyptus 12 (1932) : 250— 55; Prei-
sendanz, Papyntsfunde 120—22.
25. K. Wessely, “Zu den griechischen Papyri des Louvre und der Bibliotheque nationale,”
Funfzehnter Jahresbericht des K. K. Staatsgymnasiums in Flernals (Wien: Verlag des K. K.
Staatsgymnasiums in Hcrnals, 1889) 3-23. See the review by A. Dieterich, Berliner Phi-
lologische Wochenschrift 11 ( 1 89 1 ) : 9 — 10.
26. “Neue griechische Zaubcrpapyri,” Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissen-
schaften [Wien], philosophisch-historische Klasse 42 (1893), II. Abhandlung.
27. F. G. Kenyon, Greek Papyri in the British Museum , vol. I (London: British Museum,
1893).
28. S. Eitrcm, Papyri Osloenses, I: Magical Papyri (Oslo: Dybwad, 1925).
29. See A. Dieterich, Abraxas (Leipzig: Teubner, 1891), p. 164 n.l, and his remark in a
review article, “Griechische und romische Religion,” ARW 8 (1905) : 486 -87:
Es nimmt mich immer wieder wunder, dass der unermeftliche Gewinn, der aus
den Zauberpapyri nach so vielen Seiten hin zu erlangen ist, nur so wenige Ar-
beiter lockt. Wie mancher, der rcligionsgeschichtliche Arbeit tun will, rate bes-
ser hier sich zu bemuhen als um Probleme herumzuredcn, zu deren Losung
er doch nichts beitragen kann. Nach dem Schema der ‘Papyrologie’ gehoren
sie weder zu den Urkunden noch zu den literarischen Papyri; denn dafi sich
hier die groBe religiose Literatur von Jahrhnnderten niedergeschlagen hat, ist
nur sehr wenigen deutlich. Die Unbckanntschaft mit den magischen Papyri
macht sich zum Schadcn so mancher religionshistorischer Arbeiten, auch der
letzten Jahre, bemerklich, und da die wichtigste Publikation von Wessely in den
Denkschriften der Wiener Akademie, philos.-hist. Klasse XXXYI Band 1888,
allerdings ohne cigene rccensio und emendatio kaum benutzbar ist, habe ich cs
mit einem meincr Schuler zusammen unternommen, zuniichst wenigstens das
kapitalste Stuck dieser Literatur, das grosse Pariser Zauberbuch, in einer neuen
Ausgabe vorzulegen.
See also K. Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae. Die griechischen Zauberpapyri I (Leipzig and
Berlin: Teubner, 1928), p. VI.
30. S. Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae I, p. V.
31. U. von Wilamowitz-MoeliendorfF, Reden und Vortrdge (Berlin: Weidmann, 2 1902)
254—55. The remark in full reads as follows:
Ich habe einmai gehort, wie cin bedeutender Gelchrter bekiagte, dass diese Pa-
pyri gefunden waren, weil sie dem Altcrtum den vomehmen Schimmer der
Klassizitat nchmen. Dass sie das thun, ist unbestreitbar, aber ich ffeue mich des-
sen. Denn ich will meine Hellenen nicht bewundern, sondem verstehen, damit
ich sic gerecht beurteilen kann. Und selbst Mahadoh, der Herr der Erden, — soli
er strafen, soli er schonen, muss er den Mcnschen menschlich sehn.
32. It should be noted, however, that Dietcrich’s doctoral dissertation was already de-
voted to the subject, a work that posed most of the pertinent problems. The dissertation
was published in an expanded form under die tide “Papyrus magica musei Lugduncnsis
Batavi . . . Jabrbucher fur klassische Philologie , Supplemcntband 16 (1888) : 749— 830;
its prolegomena were reprinted in his Kleine Schriften (Leipzig: Teubner, 1911) 1-47.
lil
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri
Dicterich’s commentary on the Leiden papyrus J 395 ( =PGM XIII) followed under the title
Abraxas. Studien zur Religionsgeschichte des spdtcrn Aitertums (Leipzig: Teubner, 1891). Re-
lated is the work entitled Nekyia. Beitrdge zur Erkldnmg der neuentdeckten Petmsapokalypse
(Leipzig: Teubner, 1893, 2 1913; reprinted Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft,
1969). Still indispensable is his commentary' on PGM IV. 475—834, entkled Eine Mithras-
liturgie (Leipzig: Teubner, 1903; 2 1909 ed. R. Wunsch; 3 1923 ed. O. Weinreich; reprinted
Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1966). For biographical details and a bibli-
ography see R. Wunsch, “Albrecht Dieterich ” in Dieterich, Klcine Schriften pp. IX— XLIL;
H. J. Metre, “Nekrolog einer Epoche: Hermann Usener und seine Schuie. Ein wirkungsge-
schichtlicher Riickblick auf die fahre 1856-1979,” Lustrum 22 (1979- SO) : 5-106.
33. See Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae I (1928) pp. VIII-IX.
34. Ibid., p. LX.
35. Ibid., pp. IX-XII.
36. Papyri Graecae Magicae. Die griechischen Zauberpapyri , herausgegeben und iibersetzt
von Karl Preisendanz, vol. I (Leipzig: Teubner, 1928), vol. II (Leipzig: Teubner, 1931).
37. See the Vorrede to vol. Ill (Leipzig: Teubner, 1941), reprinted in the new edition of
vol. II, ed. A. Henrichs (Smttgart: Teubner, 1974), pp. VII-XVII.
38. See K. Preisendanz, “Zur Uberlieferung der griechischen Zauberpapyri,” in Mis-
cellanea critica Teubner (Leipzig: Teubner, 1964) 215 n.l.
39. See the Vormrt zur Neuausgabe by Henrichs in vol. I of the new edition (see n. 40
below), pp. XIII-XIV.
40. Papyri Graecae Magicae. Die griechischen Zauberpapyri , herausgegeben und iibersetzt
von Karl Preisendanz. Zweite, verbesserte Auflage, mit Erganzungen von Karl Preisendanz,
durchgesehen und herausgegeben von Albert Henrichs (Stuttgart: Teubner, 1973, 1974).
41. See A. Dieterich, “Der Untergang der antiken Religion,” Kleine Schriften 449—539;
A. D. Nock, “Greek Magical Papyri,” JEA 15 (1929) : 219— 35, reprinted in his Essays on Re-
ligion and the Ancient World , ed. Z. Stewart (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1972), 1:176—94; A. J. Festugiere, “La valeur religieuse des papyrus magiques,” in his
L’Idml religieux des grecs et Pevangile (Paris: Gabalda, 1932) 281-328; M. P. Nilsson, “Die
Religion in den griechischen Zauberpapyri,” Opuscula selecta 3 (Lund: Gleerup, 1960)
129—66; S. Eitrem, “Aus ‘Papvrologie und Religionsgeschichte’: Die magischen Papyri,”
Papyri imdAltertumswissenschaft. Vortragc des 3. internationalen Papyrologentages in Miin-
chen vom 4. bis 7. September 1933, hrsg. von W. Otto und L. Wenger, Miinchener Beitrage
zur Papyrusforschung und antiken Rechtsgeschichte 19 (Munchen: Beck, 1934) 243-63.
42. See note 29 above.
43. See, e.g., the attempt to recover ritual fragments from PGM LXX in mv article “Frag-
ments of a Catabasis Ritual in a Greek Magical Papyrus,” HR 19 (1980) : 287— 95.
44. Cf. Nilsson’s remark concerning the magical hymns, “Die Religion,” 132: “Jedoch
sind die Hymnen das Griechischste der Zauberliteratur. Ich kann mich des Eindrucks nicht
erwehren, dass es ein alteres Zauberwesen gegeben hat, das an die griechischen Gotter an-
schloss, von dem die auf uns gckommenc agyptische Zauberliteratur Brocken sich einver-
leibt hat.”
45. Since dicn fundamental changes have occurred in the interpretation of Greek reli-
gion, of which die success of the book by E. R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational (Berke-
ley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1951) was symptomatic. See also on this
point E. R. Dodds, Missing Persons: An Autobiography (Oxford: Clarendon, 1977) 180—81.
For recent developments, see W. Burkert, Griechische Religion der archaischen und klassischen
Epoche (Smttgart: Kohlhammer, 1977) 2 Iff.; idem. Structure and History in Greek Mythology
and Ritual, Sathcr Classical Lectures 47 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979).
46. Cf die comment made by A. A. Barb, “Three Elusive Amulets,” JWCI 27 (1964) : 4
n.16: “Much that we are accustomed to see classified as late ‘syncretism’ is radier the ancient
and original, deep-seated popular religion, coming to the surface when the whitewash of
‘classical’ writers and artists began to peel off. . . .”
47. On Jewish magic and related bibliography, see L. Blau, Das altjudische Zauberwesen
Introduction to the Greek Magical Papyri iiii
(Strassburg: Triibner, 1898, 2 1914); J. Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in
Folk-Religion (New York: Behrman, 1939); G. G. Sd\o\cm, Jewish Gnosticism, Mei'kabab Mysti-
cism, and Talmudic Tradition (New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary of America,
2 1965); J. Neusner, A History of the Jews in Babylonia , vols. 4 and 5 (Leiden: Brill, 1969,
1970); I. Grucnwald, Apocalyptic and Merkavah Mysticism (Leiden: Brill, 1980).
48. See for surveys A. A. Barb, “Mystery, Myth, and Magic,” in The Legacy of Egypt, ed.
J. R. Harris (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2 1971) 138—69; Nilsson, GGR II, 520— 43 and pas-
sim; K. Preisendanz, “Zur synkretistischen Magic im romischen Agypten,” Mittcilungen aus
der Papyriissammlung der Osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek (Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer) , Neue
Serie, V. Folge, ed. H. Gerstinger (Wien: Rohrcr/Osterrcichische Nationalbibliothek, 1956)
111-25.
49. On Jesus and early Christian magic, with related bibliography, sec Morton Smith,
Jesus the Magician (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978).
50. On Egyptian magic of the later periods, see the collection by Lichtheim (see note 16
above); G. Roeder, Volksglaube im Pharaonenreicb (Stuttgart: Spemann, 1952); idem, Der
Ausklang der dgyptischen Religion mit Reformation, Zauberei und Jenseitsglauben , = Du dgyp-
tische Religion in Text und Bild, vol. 4 (Zurich and Stuttgart; Artemis, 1961).
51. On the figure of the magician, see Smith, Jesus the Magician, pp. 81—89.
52. See W. Burkert, “Craft versus Sect: The Problem of Orphics and Pythagoreans,” in
Jewish and Christian Self Definition, vol. 3 (see note 5 above), 1—22.
53. Some of these handbooks are among the PGM. How they were made can still be seen
from the partly unfinished, late Byzantine (16th c.) copy in the Gennadios Library in Athens
(Codex Gcnnadianus 45), the text of which was published by A. Delatte, “Un nouveau tem-
oin de la iitterature solomonique, le codex Gcnnadianus AS d’Athenes,” Bulletin de l Academic
royale de Belgique, Classe des lettres , 5 t serie, tome 45 (1959) : 280-321.
54. As I have tried to show, even the human self was regarded as a daimon which could be
handled by the magician in die same way as all the other energies of the universe. See H. D.
Betz, “The Delphic Maxim 'Know Yourself’ in the Greek Magical Papyri,” HR 21 (1981) :
156-71.
55. A beautiful testimony of this self-understanding is cited by D. Wildung, Egyptian
Saints: Deification in Pharaonic Egypt (New York: New York University Press, 1977) 84—85,
where the great magician Amcnhotep says about himself:
I am really magnificent among any people, one with a heaving heart when he is
looking for a plan in some unknown problem, like one whose heart knows it
already; who finds a sentence even if it was found destroyed; master of wisdom,
friend of the ruler, who does useful things for the Horns, who makes his monu-
ments splendid in order to cause everybody to remember him forever at the au-
gust place. Who guides the ignorant through the events since the primeval
times, who shows dieir place to everybody who forgot about it; useful in his
ideas, when he is looking for monuments to make immortal the name of his
lord; who relates the proverb and acts with his fingers; leader of mankind, of
engaging manners as a pleasant one. Who venerates the name of the king and
his power, who praises his Majesty at any time of the day, who is on his guard in
all his decisions. . . .”
56. A good illustration of the phenomenon is the social and psychological syndrome
called “cognitive dissonance.” The syndrome can be observed among persons of strong con-
viction who, when faced with evidence to die contrary of dieir convictions (“disconfirma-
rioiT), become more intense and close themselves off from their social context, radier than
develop doubts about these convictions. Sec die study by Leon Fcstinger, Henry W. Riecken,
and Stanley Schachter, When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of' a Modern
Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World (New York: Harper and Row, 1964). The
authors of this study themselves may have become another instance of the syndrome: appar-
endy they entered into the project armed with strong convictions about the origins of reli-
gion and, without ever becoming suspicious, found nothing but confirmation.
Introduction to the
Demotic Magical Papyri
Janet H. Johnson
As important as the Greek magical papyri are to the understanding of Greco-
Roman religion, as noted by Betz in his Introduction to the Greek, magical texts,
their full significance can be perceived only when it is realized that these texts writ-
ten in Greek are part of a larger corpus that also includes texts written in that stage
of the Egyptian language known as “Demotic,” and that the corpus as a whole de-
rives in very large measure from earlier Egyptian religious and magical beliefs and
practices. The interrelationship between the Greek and Egyptian aspects of these
magical texts is emphasized by the fact that not only did the major find of such
texts, the collection of Anastasi noted by Betz, occur in Egypt, in the ancient capital
of Thebes (modern Luxor) and include both Greek and Egyptian documents, but it
also included documents that were bilingual — some of the spells were written in
Greek, others in Egyptian, all within the same texts and all for use by the same
magician. Perhaps even more telling is the fact that even in the spells written in
Greek, the religious or mythological background and the methodology to be fol-
lowed to ensure success may be purely Egyptian in origin. Thus it: is only with the
inclusion of the Egyptian materials together with the Greek, and the study of the
complete corpus, that the foil ramifications of this extraordinary body of material
can be studied and appreciated.
All four of the Demotic magical texts appear to have come from the collections
that Anastasi gathered in the Theban area. Most have passages in Greek as well as in
Demotic, and most have words glossed into Old Coptic (Egyptian language writ-
ten with the Greek alphabet [which indicated vowels, which Egyptian scripts did
not] supplemented by extra signs taken from the Demotic for sounds not found in
Greek); some contain passages written in the earlier Egyptian hieratic script or
words written in a special “cipher” script, which would have been an effective secret
code to a Greek reader but would have been deciphered fairly simply by an Egyptian.
The longest of the four Demotic texts was at some time torn into two sections
(PDM xiv; PGM XIV). The longer second section was acquired by the Leiden Mu-
seum of Antiquities in 1828; it now bears number P.Lugd.Bat.J 383 (formerly Anas-
tasi 65). The shorter beginning section was purchased by the British Museum in
1857; it now bears number P.Lond.demot. 10070 (formerly Anastasi 1072). The
definitive publication of die two sections, including hand copy, transliteration, and
translation, with extensive commentary and glossary, is die work of F. LI. Griffith
and Herbert Thompson. 1 Attention was attracted to die Leiden section very early
when Reuvens recognized the value that the glosses into Greek letters provided for
the deciphering of Demotic script. 2 The entire preserved text (both the beginning
and the end of the original manuscript are lost) consists of twenty-nine large col-
umns on the recto and thirty-three smaller columns on the verso. All are in Egyp-
tian with the exception of three short passages in three separate columns, which are
written in Greek. Elsewhere occasional Greek words occur as glosses to Egyptian
lvi
Introduction to the Demotic Magical Papyri
words or are written in the Egyptian text in an alphabetic Demotic script appar-
ently developed for writing magical and foreign words. Much more common than
the Greek passages is the use of the older Egyptian hieratic script in the midst of
Demotic passages (as if the scribe were transcribing from an earlier manuscript and
occasionally forgot to update what he was copying) and glosses into Old Coptic,
most frequently for the writing of magical names and presumably to indicate proper
pronunciation (which would have been very difficult to do given the abbreviated
nature and great age of die traditional Egyptian scripts). Each column of the recto
is written within a frame of horizontal and vertical lines; chapter or section head-
ings are written in red ink (a tradition in Egyptian literature from Old Kingdom
times 3 ). In some cases, the scribes, while writing the body of the text in black ink,
left room for the heading to be added later in red ink but failed to do so. Such
headings can easily be restored.
The same scribe who wrote the London and Leiden text also wrote a second
manuscript in the Leiden Museum ( PDM xii; PGM XII) that contains Demotic
magical texts — the verso of P.Lugd.Bat.J 384 (formerly Anastasi 75). 4 Of the nine-
teen columns of magical spells on the verso, the two columns at the beginning (the
left end of the manuscript) arc purely Demotic, the following thirteen columns are
in Greek (although two headings arc written in Demotic), the next two columns
are again in Demotic, and the last two columns at the right end of the papyrus are
largely in Demotic although they have short passages in Greek cited in the middle.
(Note that the papyrus is broken at both ends, so it is impossible to determine how
many more columns there were originally and in what language.) Within the De-
motic sections of the manuscript are occasional passages written in the earlier hier-
atic script and in alphabetic Demotic as well as Old Coptic glosses. It appears that
this text was written before the London and Leiden text since it is in this text that
one can see the development of the Old Coptic script being used for glosses. In the
columns at the left end of the papyrus, the Old Coptic glosses were written letter
by letter above the corresponding Demotic letter. Since the Demotic runs right to
left, the glosses run the same direction. This would have been quite confusing to
someone reading what appeared to be Greek, so by the glosses in the second group
of Demotic spells, at the right end of the papyrus, the scribe had taken to writing
the glosses word for word, left to right, over the appropriate Demotic word. It is
this latter system that is found throughout the papyrus of London and Leiden. In
Leiden J 384, the scribe did not write within a frame or use red ink for headings.
That both the papyri of London and Leiden and Leiden J 384 were written in
Thebes, where they were found and sold to Anastasi, is indicated further by the fact
that the dialect of Coptic to which the glosses and other alphabetic spellings most
closely correspond has been identified as “archaic Theban.” 5
The British Museum also contains a second bilingual Greek and Demotic magi-
cal text ( PDM lxi; PGM LXI), P.Brit.Mus. inv. 105 8 8. 6 The recto contains eight
columns of Demotic; two have occasional magical names written in Old Coptic
and one has the names of some ingredients written in Greek in addition to two
Greek sections within the Demotic. The verso contains two columns of Demotic
with occasional Old Coptic and four columns of Greek. The Demotic sections use
red ink for chapter headings (italicized in the translations), as in the papyrus of
London and Leiden.
The fourth Demotic magical text is P. Louvre E3229 (formerly Anastasi 1061). 7
The preserved fragments ( PDM Supplement ) contain seven columns of Demotic on
die recto and one column on the verso; the papyrus is broken at both ends. Both
Ivii
Introduction to the Demotic Magical Papyri
the earlier hieratic script and Old Coptic are used, together with the alphabetic De-
motic script developed for writing magical names and attested in each of these texts
except P.Brit.Mus. inv. 10588. Section headings are written in red ink on the recto
(italicized in the translations); the columns on the recto are written within a red
frame, as in the papyrus of London and Leiden.
In all four of these texts, all of which can be dated paleographicallv to the third
century a.d. or only slighdy later, there is every indication that all the various
scripts were written by, and for, the same scribe, a bilingual person equally at home
in Egyptian (old, current, and future) and Greek. The contents and the methodol-
ogy are overwhelmingly Egyptian. Most of the material is completely Egyptian and
its origins are easily traceable in earlier Egyptian religious and magical literature.
The methods used are likewise standard Egyptian practices. Some of this is indi-
cated in die notes to the translations.
By contrast, Egyptian divinities (in their own names or in the guise of dieir
Greek counterparts) and Egyptian mythological references abound in the Greek
texts and Egyptian methodology is also frequent. For example, although threats
against gods who might fail to do what one wants go back to the earliest Egyptian
religio-magic literature (Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts), but are unparalleled in clas-
sical Greece, diey are frequent in the Greek magical texts as well as those written in
Egyptian. Much of the Egyptian background of the Greek texts has been pointed
out in die numerous textual notes added by Robert K. Ritner. The common source
of the Greek and Egyptian language texts is also indicated by their frequent use of
identical strings of invocation names, including, in addition to Egyptian and Greek
divinities, western Asiatic divinities, “abracadabra” names, and what appear to the
modern reader as gibberish.
Because the bulk of die texts is written in Greek, and because there are short
passages of Greek in some of the Egyptian texts, 8 it has been suggested that the
Egyptian texts are translations from the Greek. But there are passages in Egyptian,
written in Old Coptic, within many of die Greek texts and, as indicated above, the
religious and magical background of many of the spells, both Greek and Egyptian,
is decidedly Egyptian. In discussing the Egyptian texts, Griffidi and Thompson
concluded: “even where there are reasons for believing that the demotic is a transla-
tion from the Greek, the original source, in relation to magic at any rate, was prob-
ably Egyptian.” 9 The same may be true for much of the Greek material. One must,
at any rate, be leery of overstating the Greek case and attributing too much to Greek
influence.
The present collection of all the texts, Greek and Egyptian, in one easily usable
volume, points this out conclusively. This will, in turn, allow and encourage the
comparative study of the purposes, methods, props, magical names, and the like, of
the Greek and Egyptian spells and encourage the study of the antecedents of the
material in both cultures. This work will add greatly to our understanding of the
cultural milieu in which these magical texts were produced and copied. Thus it is
the hope of all those who have collaborated on the production of this volume that it
will both further our knowledge of a dynamic period in the history of man and also
encourage future study of cultural contact and cross-fertilization.
Notes
1. The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden, 3 vols. (London: Grevel, 1904).
2. See n. 9 to Betz's Introduction, above.
lviii Introduction to die Demotic Magical Papyri
3. See Georges Posencr, “Sur Fempioi de Pencre rouge dans les manuscrits egyptiens,”
JEA 37 (1951) : 75-80.
4. The recto contains a long Demotic literary composition known variously as die “Tef-
nut Legend” or the “Myth of the Sun’s Eye”; for a short summary and bibliography, see
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature , vol. 3, pp. 156-57. The magical spells on the verso
were published by Janet H. Johnson, “The Demode Magical Spells of Leiden J 384,”
OMRM 56 (1975) : 29-64; for die identification of the scribe, see ibid., pp. 51-53.
5. Janet H. Johnson, “The Dialect of die Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Lei-
den,” in Studies in Honor of George R. Hughes , cd. Janet H. Johnson and Edward F. Wente,
Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, vol. 39 (Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1977),
pp. 105-32.
6. Published by H. I. Bell, A. D. Nock, and Herbert Thompson, Magical Texts from a
Bilingual Papyrus in the British Museum (London: Humphrey Milford, 1933).
7. Published by Janet H. Johnson, “Louvre E3229: A Demotic Magical Text,” Enchoria 7
(1977) : 55 — 102.
8. But note that, e.g., one of the passages in Greek in London and Leiden concerns the
purely Egyptian divinity Osiris and his burial in Abvdos.
9. Demotic Magical Papyrus , vol. 1, p. 12.
AGICAL PAPYRI
IN
INCLUDING THE DEMOTIC SPELLS
PGM I. 1-42
* [Rite] : A [daimon comes] as an assistant who will reveal everything to you dearly
and will be your [companion and] will eat 1 and sleep with you.
Take [together, therefore,] two of your own fingernails and all the hairs [from]
your head, and take a Circaean 2 falcon / and deify it 3 in the [milk] of a black [cow] 5
after you have mixed Attic honey with the milk. [And once you have deified it,]
wrap it 4 with an undyed piece of cloth and place [beside] it your fingernails along
with your hairs; and take [a piece of choice papyrus], and inscribe in myrrh the
following, and set it in the same manner [along with the] hairs and fingernails, and
plaster / it with [uncut] frankincense [and] old wine. 10
So, the writing onI[the strip] is: “a ee eee iiii ooooo yyyyyy 6606006 .” 15
[But write this, making] two figures: 5
A
E E
EEE
III I
ooooo
YYYYYY
6 6 6 6 6 6 O
6660000
YYYYYY
OOOOO
i i i r
EEE
E E
A
/ And take the milk with the honey 6 and drink it before the rising of the sun, and 20
there will be something divine in your heart. And take the falcon and set it up as a
statue in a shrine made of juniper wood. And after you have crowned the shrine
itself, make an offering of non-animal foods and have on hand some old wine. And
before you recline, speak directly to the bird itself after you have made / sacrifice to 25
it, as you usually do, and say the prescribed spell:
“a ee eee iiii ooooo yyyyyy 6666666, come to me. Good Husbandman, 7
Good Daimon, harpon knouphi brintanten siphri briskylma arouazar
[bamesen] kriphi nipoumichmoumaoph. Come to me, O holy Orion, [you
who lie] in the north, / who cause [the] currents of [the] Nile to roll down and 30
mingle with the sea, [transforming them with life] as it does man’s seed in sex-
ual intercourse, you who have established the world on an indestructible . . .
1. For meals with deities see below, il. 23-24, 85-89; III. 424-30; IV. 750-75; VII. 644-51. For
the background and further material, see H.-J. Klauck, Hcrrenmabl und hellenistischer Knit , Neutesta -
mentliche Abhandlungen, N.F. 15 (Munster: Aschendorff, 1982), csp. 156—58, 190.
2. The adjective xipKcdos is not attested elsewhere. Cf. LSJ s.v. “ja'pKos,” I: “a kind of hawk or
falcon.” See S. Eitrem, “Sonnenkafer und Falkc in dcr synkretistischen Magic,” in Pisciculi. Festschrift fur
F. Dolper (Munster: Aschendorff, 1939) 94—101; Bonnet, RARG 178 - 80, s.v. “Falkc.”
3. The magical rite of drowning effects deification. Sec F. L. Griffith, “Herodotus II. 90: Apotheosis
by Drowning,” ZAS 46 (1909) : 132-34; W. Spiegelberg, “Zu dem Ausdruck hsj 'Ecm)?,” ZA.S 53
(1917) : 124-25; A. Hermann, “Ertrinken,” RAC 6 (1966) : 370-409; idem, “Ertrinken, Ertranken”
LdA 2 ( 1977) : 17- 19; Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside ct Osiridc 273. See also PGM III. 1 and n. [ R.K.R.]
4. The ritual suggests that the falcon is to be mummified. See Prcisendanz, apparatus ad loc.
5. The translation of the term Kkifiara is uncertain here. The triangular formation, found also else-
where in the PGM and called “grapelike,” “heart-shaped” or “winged,” may be an example of technopaip-
nion , the technique of writing words pictorially in the shape of objects. See on this subject Domseiff,
Das Alphabet 63—67; C. Lenz, “Carmina figurata,” RAC 2 (1954) :910— 12; Wortmann, “Ncuc mag-
ische Texte” 104; G. Wojaczek, Daphnis. U n tersuchu ngen zur griechischen Bukolik (Meisenheim am Gian:
Hain, 1969) 59ff, esp. 62 and n. 12.
6 . For milk and honev in sacred meals, see Klauck, Herrenmahl 193-96; Bonnet, RARG 459—61,
s.v. “Milch.”
7. Cf. for the title also Anubis ‘"the good oxherd”: PDM xiv. 17; xiv. 35, 400. See Griffith and
Thompson, The Leyden Papyrus 24 and n. [R.K.R. J
4
PGM I. 42-195
[foundation], who are young in the morning and [old in the evening], who
journey through the subterranean sphere and [rise], breathing fire, 8 you who have
35 parted the seas in the first / month, who [ejaculate] seeds 9 into the [sacred fig] tree
of Heliopolis 10 continually. [This] is your authoritative name: arbath abaoth
BAKCHABRE.”
[But] when you are dismissed, [go without shoes] and walk backwards 11 and set
yourself to the enjoyment of the food [and] dinner and the prescribed food offer-
40 ing, [coming] face to face as companion [to the god], / [This] rite [requires com-
plete purity]. Conceal, conceal the [procedure and] for [7] days [refrain] from hav-
ing intercourse with a woman.
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM I. 42-195
*The spell of Pnouthis, the sacred scribe, for acquiring an assistant: 12 . . .
Pnouthios to Keryx, 13 a god[-fearing man], greetings. As one who knows, I have
45 prescribed for you [this spell for acquiring an assistant] to prevent your failing /
as you carry out [this rite]. After detaching all the prescriptions [bequeathed to
us in] countless books, [one out of all . . . ] I have shown you this spell for acquir-
ing an assistant [as one that is serviceable] to you . . . for you to take this holy
50 [assistant] and only . . . O friend of aerial / spirits [that move] . . . having per-
suaded me with god-given spells . . . but [now] I have dispatched this book so that
you may learn thoroughly. For the spell of Pnouthis [has the power] to persuade
the gods and all [the goddesses]. And [I shall write] you from it about [acquiring]
an assistant.
[The] traditional rite [for acquiring an assistant ] : After the preliminary pu-
55 rification, / [abstain from animal food] and from all uncleanliness and, on whatever
[night] you want to, go [up] onto a lofty roof after you have clothed yourself in a
pure garment . . . [and say] the first spell of encounter as die sun’s orb is disappear-
ing . . . with a [wholly] black Isis band on [your eyes], and in your right hand /
60 grasp a falcon’s head [and . . . ] when the sun rises, hail it as you shake its head
[and] . . . recite this sacred spell as you bum [uncut] frankincense and pour rose oil,
making the sacrifice [in an earthen] censer on ashes from the [plant] heliotrope.
65 And as you recite the spell there will be / this sign for you: a falcon will [fly down
and] stand in front of [you], and after flapping its wings in [mid-air and dropping]
8. The section describes the voyage of the sun god, his changing age, and his journey through the
underworld. See E. Hornung, DasAmduat (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1963). For the forms of the sun
god, sec H. Brugsch, Thesaurus Inscriptionum A egyptiacanmi (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1883) 405—33.
[R.K.R.]
9. The reference is to Ra-Atum emerging from the seas of chaos in the primal month and his creation
of the gods by masturbation. In the Egyptian view of time this cosmic event occurs continually (8i-
i)i>ske a>?). Cf. also Pritchard, ANET 6. [R.K.R.]
10. Ancient religion knew of a large number of sacred fig trees, but little is known about die one in
Heliopolis. The reference may point to another sacred tree as well, such as the jsd tree (sec L. Kakosv,
“Ischcdbaum,” LdA 3 [1980] : 182— 83) or the tree “in which is life and death” (idem, LdA 2 [1977] :
112). Or the tree is the persea tree sacred to Ra (see Herodotus 2. 73; and LdA 3 [1980]: 182-84;
Bonnet, RARG 83-84, s.v. Darby, Food: The Gift of Osiris 736-40). [R.K.R.]
11. Walking backwards as a magical rite. Sec PGM IV. 44, 2493; XXXVI. 273.
12. The term refers to an assistant daimon; see Glossary. Pnouthis and Pnoudiios refer to the same
person.
13. Keryx , which means “herald,” may refer to a real or to an ideal person of priesdy or holy status.
See W. Quandt, “Keryx ,” PRE 21 (1921)': 348-49.
PGM I. 42-195
5
an oblong stone, 14 it will immediately take flight and [ascend] to heaven. [You]
should pick up this stone; carve it at once [and engrave it later]. Once it has been
engraved, bore a hole in it, pass a thread through and wear it around your neck. But
in the evening, / go up to [your] housetop [again] and, facing the light of the god- 70
dess, address to her this [hymnic spell] as you again sacrifice myrrh troglitis 15 in the
same fashion. Light [a fire] and hold a branch of myrtle . . . shaking it, [and salute]
the goddess.
At once there will be a sign for you like this: [A blazing star] will descend and
come to a stop in the middle / of the housetop, and when the star [has dissolved] 75
before your eves, you will behold the angel 16 whom you have summoned and who
has been sent [to you], and you will quickly 17 learn the decisions of the gods. But
do not be afraid: [approach] the god and, taking his right hand, kiss him and say
these words to the angel, for he will quickly respond to you about whatever you
want. But you / adjure him with this [oath] that he meet you and remain insepar- 80
able and that he not [keep silent or] disobey in any way. But when he has with
certainty accepted this oath of yours, take the god by the hand and leap down,
[and] after bringing him [into] the narrow room where you reside, [sit him] down.
After first preparing the house / in a fitting manner and providing all types of foods 85
and Mendesian wine, 18 set these before the god, with an uncorrupted boy 19 serving
and maintaining silence until the [angel] departs. And you address preliminary (?)
words 20 to the god: “I shall have you as a friendly assistant, a beneficent god
who serves me whenever I say, ‘Quickly, by your / power now appear on earth to 90
me, yea verily, god!’”
And while reclining, you yourself quickly speak about what you propose. 21 Test
this 22 oath of the god on [what] you wish. But when 3 hours have passed, the god
will immediately leap up. Order the boy to run [to] the door. And say, “Go, lord,
blessed god, / where you live eternally, as you will,” and the god vanishes. 95
This is the sacred rite for acquiring an assistant . It is acknowledged that he is a
god; he is an aerial spirit which you have seen. If you give him a command, straight-
way he performs the task: he sends dreams, he brings women, men without the use
of magical material, he kills, he destroys, he stirs up winds from the earth, he car-
ries / gold, silver, bronze, and he gives them to you whenever the need arises. And 100
14. For the relationship between amulets and the magical papyri, see M. Smith, “Relations between
Magical Papyri and Magical Gems,” Papyrologica Bruxelknsia IS (1979) : 129— 36; J. Schwartz , “Papyri
Graecae Magicac und magische Gemmen,” in M. J. Vcrmaseren, cd.. Die orientalischen Religionen im
Romerreich , EPRO 93 (Leiden: Brill, 1981) 485—509.
15. Tit is statement shows that something has fallen from the text, for this is the first extant reference
here to myrrh troglitis. jE.N.O.] The name may be commonly referred to as “Ethiopian myrrh.”
16. This angel or messenger (ayyeXos) is also referred to as “the god” throughout this spell.
17. The adverb, which occurs in PGM I. 76, 79, 91, 108, 111, 113, 116, 121, can mean “precisely” or
“in detail.”
18. This is not to be confused with the famous Mendaean wine. Mendesian refers to the Egyptian
city of Mendes in the Nile Delta. For a discussion of the confusion between the names, see Darby, Food:
The Gift of Osiris II, 600.
19. Apparently this boy serves as a child medium. Cf. for this form of medium PGM II. 56; V. 376;
VII. 544, etc.
20. Trpd-TTEfzne with an inanimate (and csp. abstract) object is poetic. Here the prefix seems to have
its literal meaning: “first,” hence “preliminary words.” [E.N.O. |
21. 7t/k>s & (fpct&t should be read as second-person middle (cf. 1. 79) and not third-person active, as
Prcisendanz translates.
22. The position of the word “this” is awkward in the Greek text; perhaps “the oath itself” is prefer-
able. Cf. I. 156: “the same spell."
6
PGM I. 42-195
he frees from bonds a person chained in prison, he opens doors, he causes invisibil-
ity so that no one can see you at all, he is a bringer of fire, he brings water, wine,
bread and [whatever] you wish in the way of foods: olive oil, vinegar — with die
105 single exception of fish 23 — and he will bring plenty of vegetables, / whatever kind
you wish, but as for pork, 24 you must not ever tell him to bring this at all! And
when you want to give a [dinner], tell him so. Conjure up in your mind any suitable
room and order him to prepare it for a banquet quickly and without delay. At once
he will bestow chambers with golden ceilings, and you will see their walls covered
110 with marble— and you consider these things pardy real / and partly just illusion -
ary — and cosdy wine, as is meet to cap a dinner splendidly. He will quickly bring
daimons, and for you he will adorn these servants with sashes. These things he does
quickly. And [as soon as] you order [him] to perform a sendee, he will do so, and
115 you will see him excelling in other things: He stops ships and [again] / releases
them, he stops very many evil [daimons], he checks wild beasts and will quickly
break the teeth of fierce reptiles, he puts dogs to sleep and renders them voiceless.
He changes into whatever form [of beast] you want: one that flies, swims, a quad-
ruped, a reptile. He will carry you [into] the air, and again hurl you into the bil-
120 lows / of the sea’s current and into the waves of the sea; he will quickly freeze rivers
and seas and in such a way that you can run over them firmly, as you want. And
[especially] will he stop, if ever you wish it, the sea-running foam, and whenever
you wish to bring down stars 25 and whenever you wish to make [warm things] cold
125 and cold things / warm, 26 he will light lamps and extinguish them again. 27 And he
will shake walls and [cause] them to blaze with fire; he will serve you suitably for
[whatever] you have in mind, O [blessed] initiate of the sacred magic, and will ac-
complish it for you, this most powerful assistant, who is also the only lord of the air.
130 And the gods will agree to everything, for without him / nothing happens. Share
this great mystery with no one [else], but conceal it, by Helios, since you have been
deemed worthy by the lord [god].
This is the spell spoken [seven times seven] to Helios as an adjuration of the as-
sistant: “ORI PI . . . AMOUNTE 28 AINTHYPH PICHAROUR 29 RAIAL KARPHIOUTH
135 YMOU ROTHIRBAN OCHANAU MOUNAICHANAPTA/zO ZON TAZOTAZO PTAZO MAU-
LAS SOUORI SOUO OOUS SARAPTOUMI SARACHTHI A. . . RICHAMCHO BIRATHAU
OPHAU PHAUO DAUA AUANTO ZOUZO ARROUZO ZOTOUAR THOMNAORI AYOI
PTAUCHAREBI AOUOSOBIAU PTABAIN AAAAAAA AEEIOYOYOOIEEA CHACHACH
140 CHACHACH CHARCHARACHACH AMOUN 6 El 30 / LAEOBAPHRENEMOUNOTHILA-
RIKRIPHIAEYEAIPHIRKIRALITHON OMENERPHABOEAI CHATHACH PHNESCHER
PHICHRO PHNYRO PHOCHOCHOCH IARBATHA GRAMME PHIBAOCHNEMEO.” This
is the spell spoken seven times seven to Helios.
23. For the taboo on fish in ancient Egypt, sec Darby, Food: The Gift of Osiris I, 380-404. [R.K.R.j
24. The prohibition against eating pork was well known in Egypt (see also IV. 3079). The pig was
considered unclean because it was related to Seth/Typhon (see also IV. 3115, 3260). See Bonnet, RARG
690—91, s.v. “Schwein”; J. Bergman, “Isis auf dcr Sail,” Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis 6 (1974) : 81 — 109;
Darby, Food: The Gift of Osiris I, 171—209; cf. also Plutarch, Dels, et Os. 8, 35 3 F and Griffiths, Plu-
tarch’s De hide et Osiride 281 .
25. Pulling down stars was a feat for which the Thessalian witches were famous. See H. Rcichc,
“Myth and Magic in Cosmological Polemics,” Rheinisches Museum 114 (1971) : 296— 329.
26. This magical operation is similar to the table gimmick of Dcmokritos (see PGM VII. 177).
27. Cf. the table gimmick in PGM VII. 171-72.
28. This is Egyptian for Horns . . . Amon. (R.K.R.j
29. This is Egyptian pikrour , “the frog.” j R.K.R. |
30. This is Egyptian meaning “Amon the Great.” (R.K.R.j
PGM I. 42-195
7
And engraved on the stone*' is: Hclioros 32 as a lion-faced figure, holding in the
left / hand a celestial globe and a whip, and around him in a circle is a serpent bit-
ing its tail. And on the exergue of the stone is this name (conceal it): “acha
achacha chach charchara chach.” And after passing an Anubian string”
through it, wear it around your neck.
Spell to Selene: “inoutho 34 ptouaumi akcharich charaptoumi anocha
ABITHROU / ACHARABAUBAU BARATHIAN ATEB DOUANANOU APTYR PAN OR PAU-
RACH SOUMI PHORBA PHORIPHORBARABAU BOETH AZA PHOR RIM MIRPHAR
ZAURA PTAUZOU CHOTHARPARACHTHIZOU ZA1TH ATIAI7 LABAU JKANTANTOUMI
BATHARA chthibi anoch.” Having said this, you will see some star gradually free
itself from [heaven] and become a god. / But you approach, take him by the hand,
kiss him and say the same spell: “optaumi naphthaubi maiouthmoumetrobal
RACHEPTOUMI AMMOCHARI AUTHEI A. . .TAMARA CHIOBITAM TRIBOMIS ARACHO
i sari rachi iakoubi tauraberomi ANTABI taubi.” When you have spoken this,
/ a reply will be given. But you say to him: “What is your divine name? Reveal it to me
ungrudgingly, so that I may call upon [it].” It consists of 15 letters: souesolyr
PHTHE MOTH. 35
And this is spoken next: “Hither to me, King, [I call you] God of Gods, mighty,
boundless, undefiled, indescribable, firmly established Aion. / Be inseparable from
me from this day forth through all the time of my life.”
Then question him by the same oaths. If he tells you his name, take him by the
hand, descend and have him recline as I have said above, setting before him part of
the / foods and drinks which you partake of. And when you release him, sacrifice to
him after his departure what is prescribed and pour a wine offering, and in this way
you will be a friend of the mighty angel. When you go abroad, he will go abroad
with you; when you are destitute, he will give you money. He will tell you what
things will happen both when and at what time of the night or day. And if / anyone
asks you “What do I have in mind?” or “What has happened to me?” or even “What
is going to happen?,” question die angel, and he will tell you in silence. But you
speak to the one who questions you as if from yourself. When you are dead, he will
wrap [up] your body as befits a god, 36 but he will take your spirit and carry it into
the air with him. / For no aerial spirit which is joined with a mighty assistant will
go into Hades, for to him all things arc subject. Whenever you wish to do some-
thing, speak his name alone into the air [and] say, [“Come. 1 ”] and you will see him
actually standing near you. And say to him, “Perform this task,” and he does it at
once, and after doing it he will say to you, “What else do you want? For I am eager
for heaven.” If you do not / have immediate orders, say to him, “Go, lord,” and Ire
will depart. In this fashion, then, the god will be seen by you alone, nor will anyone
ever hear the sound of his speaking, just you yourself alone. And he will tell you
31. For gemstones with figures similar to the one described here, see Bonner, SMA 19—20, 151 —
53; nos. 233—37, 283; also the statue described by Nilsson, GGR II, 498—99. See furthermore Bonnet,
RARG 427-429, s.v. “Lowe.”
32. This is Helios-Horus. See Bonner, SMA 19—20, 153.
33. The precise nature of the Anubian cord is not clear. Anubis, the divine undertaker, may have had
his name applied to thread used in mummification (see also IV. 1083, 2899; XXXVI. 237). See
P. Wolters, “Faden und Knoten als Amulett,” ARW 8, Beiheft (1905) : 1-22; Bonner, SMA 3.
34. inoutho corresponds to Egyptian i ntr c 3 , “O great god,” and is the beginning of an invoca-
tion. [R.K.R.]
35. In Greek the name consists of fifteen letters.
36. This dressing up refers to the practice of mummification and the body’s subsequent deification.
Sec B. Gunn, “The Decree of Amonrasonether for Neskhons,” JEA 41 (1955) :84— 85. [R.K.R. |
145
150
155
160
165
170
175
180
185
8
PGM I. 195-222
about the illness of a man, whether he will live or die, even on what day and at what
190 hour of night. / And he will also give [you both ] wild herbs and the power to cure,
and you will be [worshiped] as a god since you have a god as a friend. These things
the mighty assistant will perform competently. Therefore share these things with no
one except [your] legitimate son 37 alone when he asks you for the magic powers
imparted [by] us. Farewell.
195 The address to the sun / requires nothing except the formula “laeobaphrene-
moun” and the formula “iarbatha.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM 1. 195-222
*This, then, is the prayer of deliverance for the first-begotten and first-born
god: “I call upon you, lord. Hear me, holy god who rest among the holy ones, at
200 whose side the Glorious Ones 38 stand continually. I call upon you, / [fore]father,
and I beseech you, eternal one, eternal ruler of the sun’s rays, eternal ruler of the
celestial orb, standing in the seven-part region, chao chao cha ouph chthe-
THONIMEETHECHRINIA MEROUMI ALDA ZAO BLATHAMMACHOTH PHRIXA EKE
. . . PHYEIDRYMEO PHERPHRITHO IACHTHO PSYCHEO PHIRITHMEO ROSEROTH /
205 THAMASTRA PHATIRI TAOCH IALTHEMEACHE; yotl who hold fast tO the rOOt,
[who] possess the powerful name which has been consecrated by all angels. Hear
me, you who have established the mighty Decans and archangels, and beside whom
210 stand untold myriads of angels. You have been exalted to heaven, and the lord / has
borne witness to your wisdom and has praised your power highly and has said that
you have strength in the same way as he, as much strength as he [himself] has.
“I call upon you, lord of the universe, in an hour of need; hear me, for my soul is
[distressed], and I am perplexed 39 and in want of [everything. Wherefore, come]
215 to me, you who are lord over all / angels; shield me against all excess of magical
power of aerial daimon [and] fate. 40 Aye, lord, because I call upon your secret name
which reaches from the firmament to the earth, athezophoim zadeageobephia-
220 theaa ambrami abraam thalchilthoe elkothooee ACHTHONON / SA I SAX
choeiourthasio iosia ichemeoooo aoaei, rescue me in an hour of need.”
Say this to Helios or whenever you are forced to do so. 41
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil. Since the character of this invocation shows no tangible connection with
the preceding or foregoing spells, it is best understood as a separate charm. Although the
purpose of this prayer (which at certain points is reminiscent of the language of the Psalms)
is not exactly stated, 11. 215—16 and 221—22 suggest that deliverance from the onslaught of a
demonic attack is requested.
37. Preisendanz’s reading tv<j) vuj> is doubtful because the term is nowhere else attested (see his
apparatus ad loc.). The word may reflect an Egyptian or Semitic idiom (“son of your own loins”), an
idiom formed in Greek from the word l(tx lov (hips). The Egyptian term is more general, however, and
refers to “part of the bodv.” [ J.B.] Cf. also Gn 35 : 1 1 ; 1 Kgs 8 : 19; Acts 2 : 30; Heb 7 : 5, 10. See further-
more PGM 1 V. 646, 25 19, and Abt, Apologie 65 -66.
38. Doxai is a name for angels. See also IV. 1051, 1202, and Bauer, s.v. “Sofa,” 4.
39. The translation of d/3ou[Aos] follows Preisendanz (“ratios”). For the general language of prayer,
cf. Ps 42 : 6, 12; 43:5; Jon 4 : 9 LXX: Sir 37 : 2; Mk 14 : 34 par.
40. The concept of Heimarmene is found in PGM here and XIII. 613, 635; cf. 709. See D. Amand,
Fatalisme ct liberte dans Pantiquite grecque. Recherches sur la survivance de V argumentation morale anti-
fataliste de Carneade chez les philosophes grecs et les theologiens chretiens des quatre premiers necks (Amster-
dam: Hakkert, 2 1974); H. O. Schroder, “Fatum (Heimarmene),” RAC 7 (1969): 524-636, esp.
567-68.
41. The translation is tentative at this point.
PGM 1. 247-62
9
PGM I. 222-31
* Indispensable invisibility spell: Take fat or an eye of a nightowl and a bail of
dung rolled 42 by a beetle and oil of an unripe olive 43 and grind them all together
until smooth, and smear your whole / body with it and say to Helios: “I adjure you 225
by your great name, borke phoiour io zizia aparxeouch thythe lailam
AAAAAA IIIII OOOO IEO IEO IEO IEO IEO IEO IEO NAUNAX AI AI AEO AEO EAO ”
and moisten it and say in addition: “Make me invisible, lord Helios, aeo oae eie
eao, / in the presence of anv man until sunset, io io 6 phrixrizo eoa.” 230
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM I. 232-47
* Memory spell: Take hieratic papyrus and write the prescribed names with Her-
maic 44 myrrh ink. And once you have written them as they are prescribed, wash
them off 45 into spring water / from 7 springs and drink the water on an empty 235
stomach for seven days while the moon is in the east. But drink a sufficient amount.
This is the writing on the strip of papyrus', “kambre chambre sixiophi har-
PON CHNOUPHI brintatenophribriskylma araouazar bamesen kriphi
NIPTOUMI CHMOUMAOPH AKTIOPHI ARTOSE BIBIOU / BIBIOU SPHE SPHE NOUSI 240
NOUSI SIEGO SIEGO NOUCHA NOUCHA LINOUCHA LINOUCHA CHYCHBA CHYCH-
ba kaxio chychba detophoth ii aa oo yy ee EE 60.” After doing these things
wash the writing off and drink as is prescribed.
This is also the composition of the ink : myrrh troglitis, 4 drams; 3 karian figs, 7
pits of Nikolaus dates, / 7 dried pinecones, 7 piths of the single-stemmed worm- 245
wood, 7 wings of the Hermaic ibis, 46 spring water. When you have burned the in-
gredients, prepare them and write.
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM I. 247-62
* Tested spell for invisibility: A great work. Take an eye of an ape or of a corpse
that has died a violent death and a plant of peony (he means the rose). Rub these
with oil of lily, and as you are rubbing / them from the right to the left, 47 say the 250
spell as follows: “I am anubis, I am osir-phre, 48 I am osot soronouier, I a m
osiris whom seth destroyed. 49 Rise up, infernal daimon, io erbeth io phobeth
io pakerbeth io apomps; whatever I, NN, order you to do, / be obedient to me.” 255
And if you wish to become invisible, rub just your face with the concoction, and
you will be invisible for as long as you wish. And if you wish to be visible again,
move from west to east and say this name, and you will be obvious and visible to
all / men. 260
42. The pellet (“that which is rolled”) of a scarab is sacred to the sun god Ra. See also PGM VII.
584. [R.K.R.]
43. The papyrus reads tpctxvivov, which Preisendanz emends to (6fi)<paKviv ov. For similar expres-
sions, see PGM IV. 228—29, 3008. For a different reading, see Schmidt, GGA 1931, 445.
44. This is the myrrh ink of Hermes.
45. In order to transfer the magical powers of the names, they were washed off and consumed. For
the widespread practice, sec Handbucb des dsutschen A berglanbens 8 (1936/37) : 1156—57.
46. The ibis was sacred to Hermes Thoth. [R.K.R,]
47. See on this point J. F. Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts , Nisaba 9 (Leiden: Brill, 1978)
27, 30,41,56. | R.K.R. ]
48. This is Osiris-Re.
49. The papyrus has tako where one expeas the standard Coptic takof, “destroyed (him).” [M.W.M.]
Cf. DMP col. I, 13, p. 23 (and n.) for Demotic parallels to part of this passage.
10
PGM I. 262-347
The name is: “marmaRIAOTH marmariphegge, make me, NN, visible to all
men on this day, immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly!” This works very well.
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil. Cf. PGM I. 222-31.
PGM I. 262-347
* Apollonian 50 invocation : Take a seven-leafed sprig of laurel and hold it in your
265 right hand / as you summon the heavenly gods and chthonic daimons. Write on the
sprig of laurel the seven 51 characters for deliverance.
The characters are these: 0 ■, the first character onto the first
270 leaf, then the second / again in the same way onto die second leaf until diere is a
matching up of the 7 characters and 7 leaves. But be careful not to lose a leaf [and]
do harm to yourself. For this is the body’s greatest protective charm, by which all
are made subject, and seas and rocks tremble, and daimons [avoid] the characters’
275 magical powers which / you are about to have. For it is the greatest protective
charm for the rite so that you fear nothing.
Now this is the rite: Take a lamp which has not been colored red and fit it with a
piece of linen cloth and rose oil or oil of spikenard, and dress yourself in a prophetic
280 garment and hold an ebony staff in your left hand and / the protective charm in
your right (i.e., the sprig of laurel). But keep in readiness a wolf’s head so that you
can set the lamp upon the head of the wolf, and construct an altar of unbumt clay
near the head and the lamp so that you may sacrifice on it to the god. And imme-
diately the divine spirit enters.
285 / The burnt offering is a wolf’s eye, storax gum, cassia, balsam gum and whatever
is valued among the spices, and pour a libation of wine and honey and milk and
rainwater, [and make] 7 flat cakes and 7 round cakes. These you are going to make
290 completely [near] the lamp, robed and refraining from all / unclean things and
from all eating of fish 52 and from all sexual intercourse, so that you may bring the
god into the greatest desire toward you. 53
Now these are the names , [which] you are going to write on the linen cloth and
which you will put as a wick into the lamp which has not been colored red: “aber-
295 amenthooulerthexanaxethrenlyoothnemaraibaT 4 / AEMINNAEBARO-
therrethobabeanimea.’’ 55 When you have completed all the instructions set out
above, call the god with this chant: 56
50. This lamp divination is named after the god Apollo. Despite its syncrctistic character, there are
an unusual number of parallels with the cult of Apollo. See S. Eitrem, “Apollon in der Magic,” in Orakel
und Mysterien am Ausgang derAntike , Albae Vujiluie 5 (Zurich: Rhcin-Verlag, 1947) : 47-52.
51. Eight characters arc shown.
52. See PGM I. 104 and note.
53. For sexual union with Apollo attributed to the Pythia, see Plutarch, DePyth. or. 405 C— D; Ori-
genes, C. Cels. 7.3; John Chrysostom, PG 61, p. 242 (hence Schol. Aristoph. Plut. 39; Suda, Lexi-
con , p. 3120). See G. Wolff, PorphyriiDe philosophia ex oraculis haurienda (Berlin: Springer, 1856) 160;
W. Burkert, Homo Necans, RW 32 (Berlin: De Gmyter, 1972) 143. | W.B.]
54. The magical words begin with the name aberamentho, on which see J. Mahe, “Aberamentho,”
in Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic Religions, Festschrift for G. Quispel, EPRO 91 (Leiden: Brill,
1981) '.412— 18. The formula should be read as a palindrome (see Glossary). Cf- also PGM III. 67—68,
117-18; XXXVIII. 20-21.
55. The magical word should be read as a palindrome. Cf. also IV. 196-97; XIV. 24; LIX. 7.
56. These lines contain dactylic hexameters (several of which arc metrically faulty) through I. 311. In
312— 14 the meter breaks down completely, yet because the tone and the apparent intent is hvmnic, the
translation continues in a verse pattern that is sometimes faulty. LI. 297—311 (although the identifica-
tion says 297-314) also form w. 1 - 15 of the reconstructed Hymn 23, while w. 16-18 are taken from
PGM I. 342-45. Sec Preiscndanz, vol. II. p. 262. [E.N.O.]
PGM I. 262-347
11
“O lord Apollo, come with Paian. 57
Give answer to my questions, lord. O master
Leave Mount Pamassos and the Delphic Pytho
Whene'er my priestly lips voice secret words, /
First angel of [the god], great Zeus, iao
And you, michael, who rule heaven’s realm,
I call, and you, archangel Gabriel.
Down from Olympos, abrasax, delighting
In dawns, come gracious who view sunset from
The dawn, / adonal Father of the world.
All nature quakes in fear of you, pakerbeth.
I adjure God’s head, 58 which is Olympos;
I adjure God’s signet, which is vision;
I adjure the right hand you held o’er die world;
I adjure God’s bowl containing wealth;
I adjure eternal god, aion of ail;
/ 1 adjure self-growing Nature, mighty adonaios;
I adjure setting and rising eloaios:
I adjure these holy and divine names that
They send me the divine spirit and that it
Fulfill what I have in my heart and soul.
/ Hear blessed one, I call you who rule heav’n 39
And earth and Chaos and Hades where dwell
[Daimons of men who once gazed on the light].
Send me this daimon at my sacred chants.
Who moves by night to orders ’neath your force.
From whose own tent this comes, and let him tell me /
In total truth all diat my mind designs.
And send him gentle, gracious, pondering
No thoughts opposed to me. And may you not
Be angry at my sacred chants. But guard
That my whole body come to light intact,
For you yourself arranged these things among
Mankind for them to learn. / 1 call your name,
In number equal to the very Moirai,
achaiphothothoaielaeia
aieaieiaothothophiacha .” 60
And when he comes, ask him about what you wish, about the art of prophecy,
about divination with epic verses, about the sending of dreams, about obtaining
revelations in dreams, about / interpretations of dreams, about causing disease,
about everything that is a part of magical knowledge.
Cover a throne and couch with a cloth of linen, but remain standing while you
300
305
310
315
320
325
330
57. The words "A vag . . . ervv Uaiffoi>L form an iambic pentameter which may preserve a line from
a longer hymn. The line belongs to Hymn 8 in Preiscndanz, vol. II, p. 244. For a similar expression,
cf. PGM IL 7-8. [E.N.O.]
58. Or, “1 adjure (you by) God’s head,” here and in the verses that follow.
59. The dactylic hexameters are pan: of the reconstructed Hymn 4: w. 7-8, 12-17, 20, 18, 23-24.
For other versions and sections of Hymn 4, see PGM IV. 436—61, 1957-89; VIII. /4-80. (Tire identi-
fication of lines in Preiscndanz is not correct, vol. II, p. 239: 1. 18 is present, 1. 19 is missing.) [E.N.O.]
60. The word should Ire read as a palindrome. One can sec the word thotho, written twice; it
means “Thoth the great.” [R.K.R. |
12
PGM II. 1-64
sacrifice with the aforementioned burnt offering. And after the enquiry, if you
335 wish / to release the god himself, shift the aforementioned ebony staff, which
you are holding in your left hand, to your right hand; and shift the sprig of laurel,
340 which you are holding in your right hand, to your left hand; and extinguish / the
burning lamp; and use the same burnt offering while saying: 61
“Be gracious unto me, O primal god,
0 elder-born, self-generating god.
1 adjure the fire which first shone in the void;
I adjure your powY which is greatest o’er all; /
345 I adjure him who destroys e’en in Hades,
That you depart, returning to your ship.
And harm me not, but be forever kind.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM II. 1-64
. . AKRAKANARBA KANARBA ANARBA NARBA ARBA RBA BA A” (speak the whole
name thus, in wing formation). 1
“O Phoibos, helper through your oracles,
Come joyous, Leto’s son, who works afar,
Averter, hither come, hither, come hither.
Foretell, give prophecies amid night’s hour, 2
5 allalala allalala santalala talala” 3 (speak this name too, / leaving off one
letter in succession, so as to make a wing formation) : 4
“If e’er with vict’ry- loving laurel branch
Here from your holy peak you often voiced
Words of good omen, so may you now speed
Your way to me with truthful oracles,
laetonion and tabaraoth aeo eo, lord Apollo Paian, who control this night,
who are master of it, who hold the hour of prayer too. Come, mighty daimons,
10 help me today / by truly speaking with the son of Leto and Zeus.”
Add also the following [spell], which is to be written on laurel leaves, and to-
gether with the strip of papyrus on which the Headless One is drawn, it is to be
placed beside your head, rolled up. It is to be spoken also to the lamp, after you
come in from the prayer, before going to bed, after you have placed a lump of fran-
kincense in the wick of die lamp: “boasoch 5 oeae iaoie oiae oiae nicharo-
15 PLEX / STHOM OTHO . . . Y IE IO El IAEL IRMOUCH ONOR <5EYE IYO EAO SABAOTH
THEOTE PAdMIACH SIEOU IAO IE IEO . . . IOY IEOY IO IEI EO IEAI IEOA AEEIO
YO.”
61. The following dactylic hexameters also form w. 16-18 of the reconstructed Hymn 23 in Prei-
sendanz, vol. II, p. 262. [E.N.O. j In contrast to the preceding hymn, 11. 341 -47 are Egyptian in charac-
ter and refer to the sun god’s self-generation and daily travel in his ship. See Homung, Das Amduat ,
passim. See also PGM I. 34. [R.K.R.]
1. On the wing formation, see PGM 1. 1 1 and n. Here the formula seems to be incomplete. Supply
(kra kanarba ra kanarba akarnaba) and (a) at the end. Cf. 1. 65 below.
2. These lines, except for 4—5, arc dactylic hexameters which arc not always metrically correct; thev
arc the reconstructed Hymn 9, Prcisendanz, vol. II, p. 244. The first three lines appear, in slightly al-
tered form, at PGM IV. 24-27 (Hymn 10, 4-6). [E.N.O. j
3. Presumably santaiaia, but there is considerable corruption in the text.
4. The lines of the following hymn mav have originally been written in some iambic meter. Cf. PGM
I. 296-97.
5. In 1. 32 the papyrus gives bolsoch in lieu of boasoch as the beginning of the incantation. One
or the other is probably wrong.
PGM II. 1-64
13
In order to remember wbat is said: Use the following compound. 6 Take the plant
wormwood, a sun opal, a “breathing stone,” the heart of a hoopoe 7 (also known as
the “vulture cock”). Grind all these together, add a sufficiency of honey, and anoint
your lips with the mixture, having first incensed / your mouth with a grain of fran- 20
kinccnse gum.
This is the preparation : In the evening, just before retiring, purify your bed with
ass’s milk, and then, holding in your hands twigs 8 of laurel (the preparation for
which is given below), speak the invocation given below. Let vour bed be on the
ground, either upon clean rushes or upon a rush mat, and lie on your right side, on
the ground and in the open air. While performing the invocation, give answer to
nobody, and as you are utter ing it, make an offering of a lump of frankincense / and 25
twelve right-whorled 9 pinecones and 2 unblemished [gizzard stones of a] rooster,
one to Helios and one to Selene, on the first day [of the month], on a censer 10 of
bronze or of earth. On your right inscribe this character, 11 and go to sleep in line
with the upper stroke of it. While praying, wear a garland of laurel of the following
description: Take 12 laurel twigs; make a garland of 7 sprigs, and bind the remain'
ing five together and hold them in your right hand while you pray, / and lie down 30
to sleep holding this, in the above-mentioned position. Inscribe the character with
myrrh ink, such as is shown to you [below], with a . . . feather [or pen], 12 and hold
it, along with the laurel, while you are uttering in prayer the words which begin
“bolsoch,” etc. 13
The names to be written on the sprigs, on each leaf: “yessemmigadon orthc>
BAUBO NOERE SOIRE SOIRE SANKANTHARA ERISCHIGAL SANKISTE DODEKAKISTE
akrourobore kodere” / (write 12 names). 35
The ink is as follows: In a purified container burn myrrh and cinquefoil and
wormwood; grind them to a paste, and use them. Take a sprig of laurel and Ethio-
pian cumin and nightshade, and grind them together; take in a clay pot water from
a new well, dug either 5 months previously or within the last 5 years, or any one
you come across on the first day after its being dug, and throw the mixture into the
water. Leave it for just 3 nights, and, as you are uttering the invocation, put a little
of it into your / right ear. 40
To achieve a good memory : Write on a leaf of cinquefoil the following character,
written with myrrh ink, and keep it in your mouth while you sleep.
The character is:' 4 €
Start saying the aforementioned invocation at the 7th hour of the moon, until
the god hearkens to you, and you make contact with him.
And these are the compulsive [procedures] : All of them may be brought before
the moon after the first or second day. / If he does not appear, sacrifice the brain of 45
6. crvvth'.fjia as a variant of mtvd-qfioL may also have the meaning of “token” or “sign.”
7. Cf. Horapollo, Hier. 1. 55, and the use of the hoopoe in a magical recipe in PDM xiv. 116. See
Crum, Coptic Dictionary 102, s.v. [R.K.R.]
8. xkabos is normally to be translated “branch,” but that seems to convey the notion of something
larger than can be envisioned here. “Twig” may be better, but it mat' sound too small. The reader must
think of a small branch.
9. SEftove is cither “right-turning” or simpiv “perfect in shape.” Cf. PGM III. 694; XIII. 10.
10. &vfjuaTr)f)toi> is propcrlv an incense burner, hut here perhaps simpJv a word for “altar.”
11. In the margin is the ankb sign ), a svmboi of life.
12. The papyrus reads sv Tnvvrjkt. . . . Preiscndanz suggests irivv'ri Xi[tt)], “with a simple, or plain,
pen” (taking irimrr\ as the equivalent of the Larin penna).
13. Cf. above, 1. 14.
14. The sign is called shenou , an Egyptian symbol of protection. [J.B-|
14
PGM II. 64-183
a black ram, and on the third day the little nail of its right forefoot, the one nearest
to the ankle; on the fourth, the brain of an ibis; on the fifth, write the figure
sketched below 15 on papyrus with myrrh ink, wrap it in a piece of clothing of one
50 who has died violently, and throw it into the furnace of a bathhouse 16 / (some,
however, [throw it] not into a furnace, for that is too extreme, but they suspend it
over a lamp, or place it beneath one).
In another [text] I have found the following: If then, he does not hearken to this
method, wrap up the figure in the same piece of cloth, and throw it into the furnace
of a bathhouse on the fifth day, saying after the invocation: “abri and abro exan-
tiabil, God of gods, king of kings, now force a friendly daimon of prophecy to
come to me, lest I apply worse tortures to you, the things written on the strips of
papyrus.” /
55 If even after this he does not hearken, pour fine, pure oil of radishes over an un-
corrupted boy, who has been tested, 17 and having gathered it up again, prepare a
lamp not painted red, and set it upon a lampstand fashioned from virgin soil (some
authorities say to pour some of the oil on the altar also). If you feci a blow, 18 chew
up the cumin and drink it down with some unmixed wine.
60 Write the prescribed figure / as given above, along with the characters and the
prescribed spell twice with myrrh ink on hieratic papyrus. And of these, one you
should hold as you make your invocation, as you go to sleep grasping it in your
right hand, and placing it under your head, while the other, if the necessity arrives
for the compulsive [procedure], you should roll up in the aforementioned cloth and
use as prescribed.
*Tr.: John Dillon and E. N. O’Neil (hymnic sections, 11. 2—4; 5-10)
PGM II. 64—183
65 *An alternative procedure : Take a sprig of laurel and write the / 2 names on its
leaves, the one: “[akrakanarba] krakanarba rakanarba akanarba kanARBA
anarba narba area rba ba a”; the other: “santalala antalala ntalala tal-
ala ai ala laia ala la a.” 19
Take another sprig with twelve leaves on it, and inscribe on it the following
heart-shaped name, 20 while you begin with a sacred utterance. This is as fallows :
70 .... And make of the sprig inscribed with the two names / a garland for yourself,
weaving about it a binding consisting of white wool, bound at intervals with red
wool, and let this hang down as far as the collarbone. You shall hang a similar bind-
ing also from the twelve-leaved sprig, and present yourself to the god in the follow-
ing manner: Take a completely white cock and a pinecone; pour wine upon it,
75 anoint yourself and remain praying / until the sacrifice 21 is extinguished. Then rub
15. That is, the figure of the Headless One given at the end of the variant spell, PGM II. 64-183.
16. Properly, the hot-air space of a hypocaust. [J.M.D.] Bathhouses were important places for doing
magic. See Kropp, Koptische Zaubertexte I, SI— 52; II, 32; J. H. Johnson, OMRM 56 (1975): 44-45.
See also PDAIxii. 149. [R.K.R.]
17. yvfxva'Qojxsv^ means literally “trained” or “practiced.” But cf. PDM xiv. 287 and csp. xiv. 68,
where a boy’s sexual purity is stressed. Hence the accompanying use of o’lfihjpto here.
18. What seems to be envisioned is something akin to an electric shock. Cf. VII. 230. [ J.M.D.] Cf.
also 2 Sm 6 : 7.
19. Cf. above, II. 1—5. Each name is to be uttered in “wing formation,” leaving off one letter from
the beginning in sequence. See 1. 11 and n.
20. The heart-shaped name is lost, but presumably it resembled the allegedly twelve-part inscription
given at 11. 33-35 above. Cf. HI. 70, “in the shape of a heart, like a bunch of grapes.”
21. Cf above, 11. 24ff.
PGM II. 64-183
15
yourself all over with the following mixture: laurel bay berries, Ethiopian cumin,
nightshade, and “Hermes’ finger.” You shall also speak into the lamp the following:
“PERPHAENO . . . DIAMANTHO . . . L DIAMENCHTHOTH 22 PERPERCHRE OANOUTH
PHROUMEN THORPSOU.”
The operative name 23 is : “akti kara abaioth, O lord god, servant of god, who
are in control of this night, stand by me, Apollo Paian.”
Go to sleep with your head toward the south. / Use this at the time of sunrise, 24 80
when the moon is in Gemini:
Fourth Invocation : 25
“Laurel, 26 Apollo’s holy plant of presage.
Whose leaves the scepter-bearing lord once tasted
And sent forth songs himself, Ieios,
Renowned Paian, who li ve in Kolophon,
Give heed to holy song. And quickly come
To earth from heaven and converse [with me].
Stand near and from ambrosian lips inspire
My songs; come, / lord of song, yourself; renowned 85
Ruler of song. Hear, blessed one, heavy
In wrath and stern. Now, Titan, hear our voice.
Unfailing one, do not ignore. Stand here,
Speak presage to a suppliant from your
Ambrosian mouth, quickly, all-pure Apollo.”
(Speak while the sun is rising).
Greeting formula: 27
“Hail, fire’s dispenser, world’s far-seeing king,
O Helios, with noble steeds, the eye
Of Zeus which guards the earth, all-seeing one.
Who travel lofty paths, O gleam divine, 28
Who move, through the heaven, bright, unattainable, /
Bom long ago, unshaken, with a headband 90
Of gold, wearing a disk, mighty with fire,
With gleaming breastplate, winged one, untiring
22. menchthoth is equivalent to mnh Dhwty, “Thoth is excellent/ beneficent.” [R.K.R. |
23. On the significance of the term Kvptov ovopa, see Philo, Leg. alleg. 1. 75; Det. 22; 83; Plant.
74. For the doctrine of the sacred name, see also Iamblichus, Myst. 7.4—5.
24. The exact significance is not clear, but cf. PGM VI. 4-5, where a very similar hymn is to be
recited at sunrise. See also Philo, Vit. cont. 89; Apuleius, Met. 11.20.
25. The basic form of the lines in this passage is metrical, but the dactylic hexameters are frequently
interrupted by voces magicae and brief statements in prose. LI. 81—102, 107, 132—40, 163—66 have
been combined to reconstruct Hymn 11. Sec Preisendanz, vol. II, pp. 245—46. LI. 81-82 (Hymn 11.
1—2) appear also at PGM VI. 6—7 (Hymn 13. 1—2) and 81 also appears at PGM XIL 87-93. [E.N.O.]
26. For the role of laurel in magic, see L. Deubncr, Kleine Scbriften zur Klassischen Altertumskunde
(Konigstein: Hain, 1982) 401—3.
27. The papyrus reads yct-tpE, “hail,” which Preisendanz understands as an abbreviation of yatps-
TKrjtto?, “greeting formula.” Sec on this A. Baumstark, “Chairetismos,” RAC 2 (1954) : 993—1006. The
hymn that follows is written in hexameters, although toward the end of the passage the meter falters.
The hymnic section drat begins in 1. 101, “I call upon you . . . ,” may be in prose; however, cf. PGM IV.
26 Iff., where ere is used repeatedly as the first word of a hexameter and where Kak(e)oi follows ere three
times.
28. Surrere? properly means “fallen from Zeus or heaven,” referring to water, but the term is widely
used to mean simply “divine.” Here some of the original meaning seems appropriate. Sec Bauer, s.v.
“5to7T£T7}9;” Betz, Lukian 168 n. 2.
16
PGM II. 64-183
With golden reins, coursing a golden path.
And you who watch, encircle, hear all men.
For you day’s flames that bring the light give birth
To Dawn, and as you pass the midmost pole.
Behind you rosy-ankled Sunrise goes
Back to her home in grief; in front, Sunset
Meets you and leads your team of fire-fed steeds /
95 Down into Ocean; Night darts down in flight
From hcav’n, whene’er she hears the crack of whip
That strikes with force around the horses’ flanks,
AAAAAAA EEEEEEE EEEEEEE IIIIIII OOOOOOO YYYYYYY OOOOOOO;
0 scepter-bearing leader of the Muses,
Giver of life, come now to me, come quickly
To earth, Ieios, hair wreathed with ivy.
And, Phoibos, with ambrosian mouth give voice
100 To song. Hail, fire’s guard, / ararachchara
ephthisikere, and hail, Moirai three,
Klotho and Atropos and Lachis 29 too.
1 call you , 30 who are great in heav’n, airlike.
Supreme ruler, you whom all nature serves
Who dwell throughout the whole inhabited world,
you [whose] bodyguard is the sixteen giants, you who are seated upon the lotus and
who light up the whole inhabited world ; 31 you who have designated the various
105 living things upon the earth, you who have the sacred bird / upon your robe 32 in
the eastern parts of the Red Sea, even as you have upon the northern parts the fig-
ure of an infant child seated upon a lotus, O rising one, O you of many names,
sesengenbarpharanges; on the southern parts you have the shape of the sacred
falcon, through which you send fiery heat into the air, which becomes lerthexa-
110 nax; / in the parts toward the west you have the shape of a crocodile, with the tail
of a snake, from which you send out rains and snows; in the parts toward the east
you have [the form of] a winged dragon, a diadem fashioned of air, with which you
quell all discords beneath the heaven and on earth, for you have manifested yourself
115 as god in truth, io io erbeth / zas 33 sabaoth smarth adonai soumarta ialou
BABLA YAM MOLEENTHIO PETOTOUBIETH IARMIOTH LAILAMPS CHOOUCH 34 AR-
senophre eu phtha eoli. Hear me, O greatest god, Kommes, who lights up the
120 day, nathmameoth; you who rise as an infant , 35 / mairachachtha; you who
traverse the pole, tharchachachau: you who unite with yourself and endow
29. Lachis is probably metrical for Lachesis.
30. The following is an Egyptian section in contrast to the preceding Greek hymn. LI. 102 and
106—7 contain an invocation of the sun god as a child sitting upon the lotus, enlightening the world .
See S. Morcnz and J. Schubert, Der Gott aufderBlume (Ascona: Artibus Asiac, 1954). [R.K.R.]
31. For the transformations of the sun god hour by hour, see PGM III. 500ff.; IV. 1596ft., and on
the whole subject H. Brugsch, “Die Kapitel der Verwandlungen,” ZAS 5 (1867) : 21 -26. [R.K.R.]
32. Cf. Apulcius’ description of the Olympiaca stola in Met. 1 1. 24, and Griffith’s commentary. The
Isis-Book 308—14. The bird may be the phoenix, for which cf. PGM XII. 231; XIII. 881. See on the
Phoenix myth the chapter in M. Tardieu, Trots mythes gnostiques: Adam , Eros et les animaux d'Egypte dans
un cent de Nag Hammadi (II, 5) (Paris: Etudes Augustinicnncs, 1974) 231—62.
33. Zas is an old name for Zeus. See also PGM XIXa. 44; Orph. Frag. no. 145 (p. 189); cf. Die-
tcrich, Abraxas 130 n. 1.
34. chooych is equivalent to Egyptian kky, “darkness.” [R.K.R.]
35. See on this point PGM II. 102 and n.
PGM II. 64- 183
17
yourself with power, giver of increase and illuminator 36 of many things, sesen-
genbarpharanges of waters, most powerful god, Kommes, Kommes iasph e 37
IASPHE BIBIOU BIBIOU NOUSI NOUSI SIETHON / SIETHON ARSAMOSI ARSAMOSI 125
NOUCHA NOUCHA E El OMBRI THAM BRITHIAOTH ABERAMENTHOOUTHLERTHEX-
anaxethreluoothnemareba, the most great and mighty god. I am he, NN,
who have presented myself to you, and you have given me as a gift the knowledge of
your most great name, of which the number is 9,999: ie ie ia iae iae iey iea ioa
IEY / IEI EIA EA EE EE OE £6 EEE EEE EEE AAO OEA EAO OI OE EO EE EAE III OOO 130
YYY 666 IY EY OY EEA IEEA EAE EIA LAIE IEA IOY IOE IOY IE IE IE IEIE; Paian , 38
Phoibos of Kolophon, Phoibos of Parnassos, Phoibos of Kastalia; ieea ie io
IY / IE IOA IEA EYA OEA EYEA OEYA EYOA EYIE EYIAE EYE EYE EYIE EYO IEYAE 135
eyeae, I will hymn Phoibos Mentor . . . areoth iaeoth ioa ioea ae ooe aeo
OEA EOA AEE IE IO IO IO IEA IAE IEOY EOYO AA AEO EE EEY EE EEA CHABRACH
phliesker phikro phinyro phochoboch ; 39 I summon you, Apollo of
Klaros, / eey; Kastalian One, aea; Pythian, oae; Apollo of the Muses, ieooei.” 140
Preparation for the rite: On the first day, [collect] nails of a sheep; on the sec-
ond, the nails of a goat; on the third, the hair or knucklebone of a wolf. Use these as
burnt offerings for the next 3 days. On the seventh day, in case he does not yet
come, / make a lampwick out of a piece of cloth taken from one who has died vio- 145
lently, and light a lamp from pure oil, and recite the prescribed formulas, beseech-
ing and exhorting the god to come with good will; let your place be cleansed of all
pollution, and having purified it, begin in purity the supplication to the god, for it
is very great and irresistible.
/ Kite: Take mud and purify the doorposts of your bedchamber, in which you are 150
observing ritual purity, and having thus smeared on the mud, write the following
inscription with a bronze stylus on the right-hand doorpost. 40
What is to be written is as follows: xf 2 arsamOsi nouciia noucha X
El El ia ia ie ey / abrasax lertheminoth.” Similarly on the left-hand doorpost: 155
u IOE EOA EIEA IAIA IE IAIEEA HARPON KNOGPHl” (formula). 41
On the upper part of the door: “ 4k ^ ? aa ee
Michael EIA eyo yae eyo iae.” Below the door, [inscribe]
the scarab, as it stands / here, 42 having anointed it with the 160
blood of a goat, outside your bedchamber. Let the throne be
purified, and upon it a linen doth, and beneath it a foot-
stool. Inscribe on the throne, on the underside: “ie iea
ioay damnameneus abrae abrao abraOa; lord of the
36. The papyrus reads TioKvtptaTuna (cf. LSJ, s.v. a reasonably well-formed word
only attested here. However, in view of the genitive vSctT <nv following the vox majjica, which seems to
need a governing noun, Preisendanz emends to nokv<po)(TE K^iara.
37. For similar formulas see PGM V. 485; XII. 80; XIII. 805ff.; XXI. 25. The formula beginning
“aberamen ...” (see Glossary;) should be read in Preisendanz’s text as a long palindrome.
38. The following text has many epithets of the god Apollo. Cf. PGM II. 139—40; III. 251; VI.
24-25. See I. 263 and n.
39. The spacing of this formula has been changed to conform to the spacing of the same formula
found elsewhere in die PGM (see I. 141-42; III. 77- 78, 151-52, etc.).
40. For the ritual concerning the doorposts cf. the Jewish mezuzab , for which see Ex 12 : 7, 22—23;
Dt 6: 4— 9; 11 : 13—21. Sec Blau, Das altjudiscbe Zauberwesen 152; Schurer, History of the Jewish People II,
479—80 (with additional references).
41. For the whole formula, see PGM I. 27.
42. The papyrus has fucrTrepuryEi, which Preisendanz emends to read cos rrspteyEt, but the meaning
is not clear.
18
PGM III. 1-164
165
170
Muses, / be gracious to me, your suppliant, and be benevo-
lent and merciful; appear to me with pure countenance.”
This figure is to be / in-
scribed on a piece of clothing
belonging to one who has died
violently, and is to be cast into
a pure lamp.
175 SENSENGEN BARPHARANGES / OEIA IOAE
After you have learned all you want, you will release him, doing honor to him in
a worthy manner. Sprinkle dove’s blood round about, make a burnt offering of
myrrh, and say, “Depart, lord, chormou chosmou ozoamoroiroch kimnoie
180 EPOZOI EPOIMAZOU / SARBOENDOBAIACHCHA IZOMNEI PROSPOI EPIOR; gO off,
lord, to your seats, to your palace, leaving me strength and the right of audience
with you.”
*Tr.: John Dillon and E. N. O’Neil (hymnic sections, 11. 81—87; 88—101).
PGM III. 1-164
* [Take a] cat, and [make] it into an Estes [by submerging] its body in water. While
you are drowning it, speak [the formula] to [its] back.
The formula during the drowning [is as follows]:
“Come hither to me, you who are in control of the form of Helios, you the
5 cat- / faced god, 1 and behold your form being mistreated by [your] opponents, 2
[them,] NN, so that you may revenge yourself upon them, and accomplish [the]
10 NN deed, because I am calling upon you, O sacred spirit. Take on / strength and
vigor against your enemies, them, NN, because I am conjuring you by your names,
BARBATHIAO BAINCHOOOCH NIABOAITHABRAB 3 SESENGENBARPHARARGES . . .
phreimi; raise yourself up for me, O cat-faced god, and perform the NN deed”
(add the usual).
15 / Take the cat, and make [three] lamellae, one for its anus, 4 one for ... , and one
for its throat; and write the formula [concerning the] deed on a clean 5 sheet of
1. The goddess addressed here is Sekhmet-Basrct, well known from Egyptian magical texts. See
Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts, nos. 5, 13-15, 18, 20, 124; Bergman, Ich bin Isis 264-67;
E. Otto, “Bastct,” LdA 1 (1975): 628- 30.
2. For this type of accusation, see PGM III. 113-14; IV. 2475 and n.
3. The letters barbath laOb A t nchooochn i aboa ithab rab form a palindrome. BAINCHOOOCH
(“soul of Khukh,” the god of darkness) is often read separately, but is adapted to this form for numcro-
logical reasons: the formula adds up to 3663.
4. That is, “one [to be placed] in its anus.” Preisendanz in the second case restores sv r[&> aTO/j-aju,
but this is in conflict with the other restoration in 1. 67 below: [. . . Sid t\6sv Kay\aposv\, “through the
carholcs.”
5. “Clean” is meant regularly in PGM in a descriptive sense, i.e., previously unused or “free” from
imperfections, etc. See LSJ, s.v. “KadaposT 3a. For detailed description regarding papyrus, see Pliny,
NH 13. 68-89, and R. Wiinsch, “Charta ” PRE 3 (1899) :2185-92.
PGM III. 1-164
19
papyrus, with cinnabar [ink], and [then the names of] the chariots and charioteers,
and the chariot boards / and the racehorses. 6 Wind this around the body of the cat 20
and bury it. Light seven lamps upon [7] unbaked bricks, and make an offering,
fumigating storax gum to it, and be of good cheer. 7 / Take its body [and preserve] it 25
by immuring it either in a tomb or in a burial place . . . with colors, . . . bur}' . . .
lookingtowardthesunri.se, pour out (?) . . . , saying:
“Angel, . . . [semea], chthonic / . . . lord 8 (?), grant [safety?], . . . O chthonic 30
one, in [the] horse race, iaktore; 9 hold . . . restrain . . . , phokensepseuare[k~
tathoumisonktai], 10 for me, the spirit . . . the daimon of [the] place . . . / and 35
may the [NN deed] come about forme immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly,
because I conjure you, at this place and at this time, by the implacable god . . .
thachocha ein choucheoch, and by the great chthonic god, / arior euor, 40
and by the names that apply to you; perform the NN deed 1 ’ (add the usual).
Then take up the water in which the drowning took place, and sprinkle it [on]
the stadium or in the place where you are performing [the rite].
The formula to be spoken , while you are sprinkling the drowning water, is as fol-
lows: “I call upon you, Mother of all men, / you who have brought together the 45
limbs of Meliouchos, even Meliouchos himself, orobastria neboutosoualeth,
Entrapper," Mistress of corpses,' 2 Hermes, Hekate, [Hermes?], Hermekate, 13 leth
amoumamoutermyor; 14 I conjure you, the daimon that has been aroused in this
place, / and you, the daimon of the cat that has been endowed with spirit; 15 come 50
to me on this very day and from this very moment, and perform for me the NN
deed” (add the usual, whatever you wish), “chychbachych bachachych bach-
AXICHYCH BAZABACHYCH BALACHACHYCH BAZETOPHOTH / BAINCHOOOCH AN I- 55
BOOO CHOCHE . . . PHIOCHEN GEBROCHTHO MYSAGAOTH CHEOO . . . O 16 SA-
8AOTH EULAMOSI EELAXIMA THACH0CH]AXIN CHOUCHEOCH.”
On the [ 1st and 3rd leaves of metal] which you are to use for the conjuration,
there should be this : “iaeo” /
6. fxovoLTOip is a late word for fioodfirtv^, “horse with a single frondet,” i.e., a racehorse. Presumably
one drew crude representations of them, along with their names, on a sheet of papyrus. Cf. such figures
on the so-cailed Serbian curse tablets in R. Wiinsch, Sethianiscbe Veifluchungstafeln am Rom (Leipzig;
Tcubner, 1899), esp. 51.
7. Cf. PGM IV. 2390 for a similar injunction to perform a rite with good cheer. See also Plutarch, De
tranq. an. 20, p. 477E, and R. Bultmann, TDNT 2 (1976) ; 772-75 s.v. “ewppmt'eu.”
8. The papyrus reads . . . ope. Eitrem suggests rvpapve.
9. It is not clear whether iaktore is a magical word or something sensible. Preisendanz suggests
otKTwpE as a Greek equivalent of Latin adores , “drivers,” but in that case the syntax is unclear.
10. Emended and restored with plausibility from PGM III. 78— 79, 513— 14, 545 —46; IV. 339—40;
LXVII. 13.
11. Although attested in LSJ, s.v. u apKviaP as an epithet of the goddess Hekate with uncertain
meaning (with reference to Audollent, Dcfixionum Tabellae 38. 14 [third cent. A.D.]), “the netter” is a
standard Egyptian underworld daimon. See D. Bidoli, Die Spruche derFangnetze (Gliickstadt: Augustin,
1976); J. Zandee, Death as an Enemy (Leiden; Brill, 1960) 226—34. [R.K.R.]
12. The term veKvia is also attested in this sense only in PGM IV. 2781, but necessarily having some
such meaning.
13. The name Hermekatc is a combination of Hermes and Hekate. See Wiinsch, Defixionum Tabcl-
lae , nos. 104-7. Here in the papyrus the name could also be read Hcrmekateleth, that is, with the typi-
cal ending -eth\ thus Eitrem in the apparatus to III. 37.
14. amoy at the beginning is Coptic for “come!” [R.K.R.]
15. TTPEvparono^ is a form not otherwise attested; cf PGM XIII. 525; EfX 7 TPF.vfj.aTbji)r}.
16. A plausible restoration is iao in that iao and sabaoth form a common pairing in the PGM.
20
PGM III. 1-164
65 I On [ the 2nd] metal leaf, that is to be put [through the ear holes],'* there should
be this-, “treba aberamenthCouthleraexanaxethrelthyooethnema-
70 REBA” / (in the shape of a heart, like a bunch of grapes) .
Right skeletal figure: [Left skeletal figure) :
“io erbeth “I conjure you, the powerful and mighty angel of
16 pakerbeth this animal in this place; rouse yourself for me,
io bolchoseth and perform the NN [deed] both on this very
io apomps day and in every hour and day; rouse yourself /
75 io patathnax for me against my enemies, NN, and perform
io akoubia NN deed” (add the usual), “for I conjure you
io seth by iao sabaoth adonai abrasax, and by the
phokensepseu- great god, iaeo” (formula), “aeeioyo oyoieea
AREKTATHOUMISAKTAI, CHABRAX PHNESKER PHIKO PHNYRO PHO-
80 Perform the NN deed” cho boch / ablanathAnalba
(add the usual, what-
ever you wish).
AKRAMMACHAMARI SESENGENBARPHARANGES MITHRA NAMAZAR ANAMARLA
damnameneu cheu chtho[nie] 19 thortoei, holy king, the sailor, [who steers]
17. After die second ablanathanalba there appears an isolated “K” followed by a lacuna of uncer-
tain size. The papyrus cither reads koll, “and,'" or Kotvd, “add the usual.” For obvious reasons, it has
been left untranslated.
18- See above, 1. 16 and n.
19. This formula, repeated below 1. 100, may well be garbled Greek for Damnameneu , Zen chthonie ,
identifying Helios-Mithras with Hades. [J.M.D.]
PGM III. 1-164
21
the tiller of the lord god , 20 rouse [yourself] for me, great cat-faced one, steerer of the
tiller [of God], perform the NN deed (add the usual), from this very day, / imme- 85
diatelv, immediately; quickly, quickly. Perform for me the NN deed (add the usual,
as much as you wish), powerful Seth-Typhon , 21 and act lawlessly through your
strength and overturn the NN deed in this place . . . [in this very hour?], as I com-
mand your image, / for I conjure you, masicelli maskellO (formula). Perform for 90
me this, the NN deed, by virtue of your visage, cat-faced spirit; perform for me the
NN deed (add the usual), and what is written hereafter r> (add your additional re-
quests ). 22 Proceed toward the sunset 22 and, / taking the right-hand and left-hand 95
whiskers of the cat as a phylactery, complete the rite by saying this formula to
Helios.
Formula'. “'Halt, halt the sacred boat, 24 steersman of the sacred boat! Even you,
Meliouchos, / I will bind to your moorings, until I hold converse with sacred Helios. 100
Yea, greatest Mithra, namazar anamaria damnameneu cheu chthoniethon-
toei, holy king, the sailor, he who controls the tiller of the lord god, 25 thon-
TOEI KATHEN KAI MENOPHRIS 26 . . . KMEBAU KERKERYMI, before / [VOU attain to] 105
the southwest of the heaven, before [you reach nightfall? ] in flight from the out-
rages committed against you. Hearken to me as I pray to you, that you may perform
the NN [deed], because I invoke you by your names barbaratham chelou-
BRAM / BAROUCH[AMBRA] SESENGENBARPHARANGES AMPHI MIOURI . . . MIN. 110
Perform the NN deed” (add the usual, whatever you wish), “for it is those same
people who have mistreated 27 your holy image, they who have mistreated [the holy]
boat, / wherefore for me . . . , that you may return upon them the NN deed (add 115
foe usual). Because I call upon you, io erbeth [io] pakerbeth io bolcho-
SETH IO APOMPS IO PATATHNAX IO AKOUBIA IO ABERAMENTHOOUTHLER-
thexanaxethrelthyoothnemareba. Perform foe NN deed (add foe usual), I
conjure you in the Hebrew tongue 25 / and by virtue of the Necessity of foe Neces- 120
sitators, 29 maskelli maskellO. Accomplish this for me and destroy and ravage in
the coming dawn, and let the NN deed befall them” (add the usual, whatever you
wish), “immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly. Pleasant be your setting!”
When you have come to the place / in which you are performing die rite, then, 125
taking hold of foe long whiskers of the cat, both the right-hand and foe left-hand, as a
phylactery, go through the whole of this formula to Helios at his rising.
Formula : “Hither to me, O greatest in heaven, for whom foe heaven has come
into being as a dancing place, / satis 30 pephoouth hora, oitchou; of necessity 130
20. A reference to the solar bark of Re. See PGM III. 98- 105. [R.K.R. j
21. Seth plays here the role of the defender of the bark of Re. See H. tc Velde, Seth, God of Confusion
(Leiden: Brill, 1967) 99-108. [R.K.R.]
22. Or, “for other uses.” Cf. the list of uses at PGM XIII. 230—333.
23. A reference to a place from where the sunset can be viewed.
24. For the halting of the soiar bark, cf. lamblichus, Myst. 6.5 and B. Ebbcll, Papyrus Ebers (London:
Oxford University Press, 1937) 70-71. [R.K.R.]
25. Cf. PGM ill. 81 and n.
26. Egyptian mn-nfr , “established and beautiful,” an epithet of Memphis. [ J.B.]
27. For this type of accusation see PGM III. 5; IV. 2475 and n.
28. Probably the meaning is “by the Hebrew sound” and refers to the vowel combinations with lao.
See also Blau, Das altjudische Zaubcrxvesen 128-37; O. Eissfcld, “Jahwe-Name und Zauberwcsen,”
in his Kleine Schriftm 1 (Tubingen: Mohr, Siebeck, 1962) 150-71. On the use of “barbaric language”
(p'ijcrt? fiapfiapiKT)) generally, see Hopfncr, OZ I, sections 706-69; Betz, Lukian 153-54.
29. This peculiar expression is found also in PGM IV. 262; cf. VII. 302—4; XXXVI. 342-49 and
perhaps IV. 1456; XIII. 291; XIXa. 11.
30. Probably referring to the Egyptian goddess Satis. See Bonnet, RARG 670-71, s.v. “Satis.”
22
PGM III. 165-86
perform for me the NN deed, El laanchych akarben laar menthre sene-
135 bechych, you who love prophecy, golden- visagcd, 31 gold-gleaming, / shining
with fire in the night, valiant, valiant ruler of the world, who shine out early in the
day, who set in the west 33 of heaven, who rise up from the east, SL . . . ix, 33 circle-
140 shaped, who run until midday and linger in Arabia, mouropho 34 / emphe . . . ir,
the messenger of the holy light, the fiery circle, pertaomech perakonchmech
perakomphthoak kmeph, 35 the brilliant Sun, who shine throughout the whole
inhabited world, who ride upon the ocean, psoei o psoei 6 pnoute nenter
145 terou; 36 / 1 adjure you by the Egg. 37 1 am Adam the forefather; my name is Adam.
Perform for me the NN deed, because I conjure you by the god iao, by the god
abaoth, by the god adonai, by the god michael, by the god souriel, by die
150 god Gabriel, by the god Raphael, / by the god abrasax ablathanalba ak-
rammachari, by the lord god, iaiol, by the god lord chabra(ch) 3 * phnesker
PHICHRO PHNYRO PHOCHOBOCH AEEIOYO OYOIEEA; YOU who light Up the day,
155 nethmomao; the child, / the riser, orokotothro, augmenter of fire and of much
light, se sen g E n b arp h arag ge s . Come to me, hearken [to me], most just one of
all, steward of truth, establisher of justice; I am he whom you met and granted
160 knowledge and holy utterance of your greatest name, by which you control / the
whole inhabited world; perform for me the NN deed” [(add the usual)].
This is the ritual of the cat , [suitable] for every ritual purpose: A charm to re-
strain charioteers in a race , a chm~m for sending dreams , a binding love charm ,
and a charm to cause separation and enmity.
*Tr.: J. M. Dillon. This elaborate spell, a charm suitable for a number of purposes (all of
which are forms of malicious magic), is set forth with special reference to its use in chariot
races; it is understood, however, that the additional functions, as stated at die end of die
spell, also prove useful to the practitioner, provided that he supply in the required places the
appropriate requests.
PGM III. 165-86
165 *Take [some] water cress, 39 4 fingers in length, and make from it . . . and of the
plant bugloss . . . construct ... a strip of papyrus, and in the middle of the papyrus
170 strip . . . throw it away, saying the / names: “an . . . sao ibr . . . eisiro . . .
ousiren [techtha 40 . . . Jl, I conjure you, lord gods, ... do not, therefore, dis-
31. Neither «pikop,airrocrwo<s nor xpvcro 7 rp 6 crto 7 ros is attested elsewhere, according to LSJ.
32. Reading Xtj3i>/36p<p, a compound found nowhere else; it probably means “west.”
33. It is not dear whether this damaged word is a vox magica or a Greek word.
34. Mouroph is a name of the hour god in PGM IV. 1690 (the god of the eleventh hour, having the
form of an ibis).
35. Forms of this logos occur in PGM IV. 1010; XII. 190; XIII. 780, 820. The final name Kmeph is
an epithet of Osiris and is the equivalent of the Egyptian hm% “his shrine.” Cf. satraphrkmeph in
PGM XII. 185; XIII. 915.
36. The phrase is equivalent to the Egyptian ps sy c 3 pi sy <3 pj ntr *23 ntr. tv tr. w, “Good Daimon,
Good Daimon, O god of all the gods!” psoeio should be the usual psalas. fR.K.R.]
37. For the sun as an egg, cf. PGM XII. 1 00- 106. On the cosmic egg, see J. Bergman, Isis-Seele und
Isis-Ei (Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1970) 73-102; Morenz, Egyptian Religion 177—79. [R.K.R.]
38. This formula has been misread and is here emended on the basis of PGM I. 141—42; II. 138—
39; III. 77- 78. Preisendanz has IAB BA at the beginning. The lambda has been misread for a chi.
39. The papyrus has [.]«[.] Ba/xwov, which Preisendanz restores to read [*:]«[/}] boquvov, an unat-
tested adjectival form of napda/xov, “nose-smart” (thus LSJ, s.v.; a mustardlike plant). However,
Schmidt, GGA 1931, 450 suggests [/3ja[A] crapivov , “balsam wood.” Cf. PGM XII. 364.
40. A variant of the name osirchentechtha. Sec also PGM VII. 257. The name corresponds to
Egyptian Osiris-khenty-kbet , a combination of Osiris and Khcntv-khet, the local god of Athribis, who in
the text is joined together with Osiris, Horus, and Apis. See Bonnet, RARG 131—33, s.v. “Chen-
techtai.” [R.K.R.]
PGM III. 187-262
23
regard me; speak to me [clearly about] everything, accomplish everything . . .
of / my prayer [and . . . ] if god will, of this prayer [on the strip of papyrus] and of 175
the important matter of mine.”
And you must make an offering in . . . [write] this [on a piece of priestly pa-
pyrus] with myrrh ink: ... I [ouroboros ] 41 serpent . . . “ote . . . iam . . . graso- iso
CHO . . . NOPSITHERTHERNOPSI . .
*Tr.: J. M. Dillon. This fragmentary portion of PGM III begins another untitled spell which
probably ends at line 186, since line 187 begins a new column (col. VIII) in die papyrus
manuscript. Although the exact purpose of this short spell cannot be determined, its func-
tion may be similar to that of the spell to follow, viz., an oracular request.
PGM III. 187-262
* Pound up dry fruit (?) 42 with a pestle (?) 4 -’ and mix it to sufficiency with honey
and [oil of] a date palm. Grind up a magnet. Boil all together and pulverize it.
Make little rounds, as many as you wish, / but put an ounce of each element of the 190
mixture into each of these, and proceed thus, singing a hymn of praise to the god.
Then the deity will come to you, shaking the whole house and the tripod 44 before
him. Then he will bring about 45 your enquiry into the future, being dear in his
intercourse with you, 46 as long as you wish, / and then dismiss the god with thanks. 195
The drawing of the tripod :
Tins is the prayer of encounter of the rite which is recited to Helios : 47
“Keep silent, everyone, the voice that’s in
Your mouths; O circling birds of air, keep quiet; /
Cease frolicking, you dolphins, o’er the brine. 200
Stand for me, river streams and fountain [flows].
41. Supplying [ ovpo0]opo$ in the lacuna. [R.D.K.]
42. ra gvpa. Preisendanz translates on the basis of a gloss in Hesvchius, {vpov> “cutting, dry, sharp.*
But perhaps we are to understand simply gvkat, “pieces of wood,” assuming a confusion oflambda and
rho. The definite article, however, suggests the pieces of wood were previously mentioned, in which case
this spell would be connected to the preceding (cf. 1. 165).
43. The papyrus has <rxo(t?ravov, a word otherwise unattested and meaningless. Preisendanz
emends to KOfAiravov, “strawberry tree,” a rather radical change. Perhaps we should read kottcxvov ,
“pestle,” the sigma being an error, and the mu intrusive, as it often is with pi. This, however, would have
to be a genitive used instrumentally, which is troublesome.
44. This tripod has not been mentioned before, but it is obviously central to the ceremony (cf. U.
291-96 below). Perhaps we can assume the tripod is a part of the magician’s basic equipment (see PGM
IV. 1890-91; 1S97; V. 200-201; XIII. 104, 661, etc.).
45. Reading future rekei instead of imperative Tsket. The phrase that follows (rpar'fi? rfj 6/x<|T]ia)
seems to make better sense if it refers to the god. Cf. PGM II. 83-84, where 6p.ik<bv is used of the god
consorting with the magician.
46. On Apollo’s epiphany cf. Callimachus, Hy. 2.1-2. [W.B. j
47. The following dactylic hexameters arc also the reconstructed Hymn S. See Preisendanz, vol. II,
pp. 241-42. [ E.N.O.J
24
PGM III. 187-262
Now, birds of augury, stop everything
Beneath the skv. Snakes in your dens, attend
The cry and be afraid. May you in awe
205 [Keep] silence, daimons ’mid the shades. / The world
Itself ’s astonished by the secret words.
King Semea, 4S [father] of the world, be gracious
To me, O scarab; [I call you] immortal.
Golden-haired god, O scarab, marvel great
To ev’ry god and man, [be gracious, lord.
Who hold the fiery vapor in your power], /
210 Lord of the [sunrise], risen fiery.
Titan, I call [you], flaming messenger
Of Zeus, divine iao; and you, too.
Who rule in heaven’s realm, O [Raphael],
Who joy in sunrise, be a gracious god,
O abrasax; and you, O greatest one,
O heav’nly one, I call, and [you, michael], your helper, 49 /
215 Who saves [his people’s lives], the perfect eye
Of Zeus, and who has both exalted 50 nature
And brought forth nature in its turn from nature.
And I call ... of the immortals . . .
OPASEEPA SESE[NGENB]ARPHARAGGES:
All-mighty is the god, but you are 51 greatest.
Immortal one; I beg you, shine forth now,
220 Lord of the world, sabaoth, / who veil 52 sunset
From dawn, adonai, who, being a world,
Alone among immortals tour the world, self-taught,
LTntutored, through the world’s midst traveling
To those who with a cry raise you at night. 53
akrajvlmach[ari], ka . . . k . . .
225 Who joy in laurel offering, / in gates
Of untamed Styx and Death the Arbiter.
48. The name Semea also appears at PGM III. 29, where it is fem., and at V. 429; PDM xiv. 214
among the voces magicac. Despite the designation “King” here, Semea elsewhere is a Syrian goddess
whose name appears in various forms on numerous votive inscriptions. She is identified with several
deities, e.g., Astarte, Athena, Hera. Semea does not appear in Greco-Roman literary writings except
perhaps in Ps.-Lucian, De Syr. Dea 33 (yet the text is uncertain), where it is suggested she is Semiramis.
There is also a Syrian god Seimios. See O. Hofer, in Roscher IV, 601; R. Dussaud, “Simea und Simios,”
PRE, second scries 5 (1927) : 137-40; W. Fauth, “Simla,” KP 5 (1979) : 200. [E.N.O.]
49. The papyrus reads d[p]oiyoi' cron MpyafiX], which is unmetrical. Heitsch would excise apcoy 6v
crow; Prciscndanz would excise peyterrs at the beginning of the line, and write MtxapX crou dpwyoi/,
which would restore the meter. “Michael” is a restoration, but a probable one; cf. PGM I. 301.
50. ae.£ov7ct, the emendation of Wunsch, is preferable to d sip a ora for two reasons: (1) it corrects
the meter and (2) it restores the proper sense, for whatever is written must govern <pvaiv in both clauses.
In any case, ae^ovra must be taken as a zeugma. [E.N.O.]
5 1 . Fahz reads sottl in lieu of oerrt, “you are almightv god.”
52. eTTLrjKSTrafa is properly “to cover over,” hence "Veil.” It may, however, be a solecism for etrt-
rTKETT-ofiai, “look upon,” the sense required here (cf. Prcisendanz: “beschaut”). Cf. PGM I. 303, ettl-
(TKOTTial.Ets, which is at least metrical, though the verb is not elsewhere attested. [E.N.O.j
53. The readings of the papyrus are quite uncertain here. See the restoration by Heitsch in Preisen-
danz, vol. II, pp. 241-42 (Hymn 5).
PGM III. 187-262
25
You I adjure, god’s seal , 54 at whom all deathless
Gods of Olympos quake and daimons who
Stand forth preeminent, for whom the sea
Is ordered to be silent when it hears . 55
You I adjure by mighty god Apollo. /
AEEIOYO.” 230
Also say this : “Send me the daimon who will give responses to me about every-
thing which I order him to speak about.” And he will bring this about.
This is also [another] hymn : 56
“I 57 sing of you, O blessed one, O healer.
Giver of oracles, / O all-wise one, 235
0 Delian [lord and Python-] slaying 58 [youth],
Dodona’s [king, foretell,] O Pythian Paian;
1 call you, [god who rule the tuneful lyre].
Which you [alone] of gods [do hold and strike]
[With sturdy hands] . . . [lord of the silver bow],
[O well] -named Phoibos . . .
/ . . . ruler absolute ... 240
Who roam the wooded peaks [of Mount Parnassos],
Be silent, do not now unstring . . .
O myrrh tree . . . / Lykian god, 245
Cease grow . . .
A greater light, for he will learn ...
From lips divine, someone ... to arouse
The seer with plectrum 59 . . .
But come you hither, prophesying; come.
Come hither, prophet, who bring joy, O Smintheus,
Give your response and / hearken, Pythian Paian; 250
Undying shoot, hail, Delphic maiden. Daphne,
For to you first did Phoibos strike up songs
In contest with the Muses; Daphne, you
Shake bough and urge on Phoibos. Then in hymns
They praise your tunefulness from holy Delphi.
O maiden who exult in tones divine
And oracles / . . . heaven’s runner , 60 light bearer, 255
Earth shaker: gracious and obedient,
54. O, “I adjure you [by] the god’s seal.” Sec PGM I. 306 and n.
55. In Hymn 5, Preiscndanz concludes with ceKOuei, but the following words seem part of the hymn
for two reasons: (1) they arc almost metrically sound, and (2) they seem to have a poetic sense. [E.N.O.j
56. This hymn is extremely fragmentary in the papyrus. Here the suggested restoration by Heitsch is
followed. See Preiscndanz, vol. II, p. 247 (Hymn 12). [E.N.O.j
57. This passage contains what appears to be dactylic hexameters, many of which arc fragmentary
while others are completely missing. [E.N.O.J
58. The papyrus has jeoXeTOKru-n-s, which Preiscndanz (vol. II, p.247 [Hymn 12]) restores as
[nvi?]oX.£TOKri>7j-£. This, if correct, would be a unique epithet, a combination of two attested epithets:
I ludoKTovo?, “Python slaver,” and llufloXerT/s, “Python destroyer.”
59. On the instrument called ttKt)ktpcu\ cf. Plutarch, De def. or. 436E; Clement Alex., Prow. 1. 5. 3.
| W.B.]
60. Read ovp{av)o§pap.£ for papyrus ovpofipo/u.e, which is meaningless. For this epithet see 1. 258
and LSJ, s.v.
26
PGM III. 263-75
Come to your prophet, but come now in haste,
O you who run through the air, O Pythian Paian.”
Dismissal: [“■Hasten], O air-traversing Pythian Paian; return to your heavens, /
260 leaving to me health together with all gratitude, benevolent and ready to hearken, a
sure breastplate (?), and depart to your own heavens, and [dwell there.]”
*Tr.: John Dillon and E. N. O’Neil (hymnic sections, II. 198-230; 234-58).
PGM III. 263-75
* Foreknowledge charm: Take your finger and place it under your [tongue] 61 be-
265 fore you speak to anyone. 62 Say these things along with the [great name]: / “make
me know in advance the things in each person’s mind, today, [because] I am TOM
. . . IAO SABAOTH IAO YHEAEETH . . . M ADOUNAI BATHIAO . . . EATHOE 1ABRABA
ARBATHRAS [ IAO] BATHIAOOIA ZAGOURJE B ARJBATH IAO AEI AAAAAAA EEEEEEE . . .
oe . . . soesesisi eth . . . sabaoth iaeo” (formula). If you wish, you will know
270 [all things in advance], ... if you have [your finger] / under your tongue, according
to [the command, and if you say] this formula to Helios.
And the formula is: “Lord, if you [wish me to know in advance], let the falcon
[descend] onto the tree.” If it does not happen, also speak this formula to the four
winds while you turn around [toward] die wind. 63 Whenever you say the formula,
275 also say to Helios the great name . . . and the great name . . . : aoth / sabaoth.
The formula [is as] above.
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM III. 275-81
* [Horoscope] : 64 Moon in [ ... or] Virgo: anything is obtainable, perform bowl
divination, as you wish; in [Cancer] : perform the spell of reconciliation, air divina-
tion . . . ; in Gemini: perform spells of binding, . . . ; [in] Libra: perform invoca-
tion . . . spell of release . . . necromanqy in Pisces . . . oio or love charm; in Sagit-
280 tarius: conduct business l ... ; [in] Capricorn: do what is appropriate; in ... .
*Tr.:E.N. O’Neil.
PGM IIL 282-409
*. . : words not to be spoken . . . beyond measure. . . .
Rite that brings foreknowledge, [which has] complete power and makes [all
285 the passions] / subservient: 6S In die deep ... of a river [or in] a tomb . . . after
descending, throw into . . . [the] passion stops, and you will learn whatever you
wish.
[But speak thus:] “Continue without deception, lord, the vision of every act, in
accordance with the command of the holy spirit, the [angel] 66 of Phoibos, you
290 yourself being pliable because of these / songs and psalms.”
The preparation far the operation : For a direct vision, set up a tripod and a table
of olive wood or of laurel wood, and on the table carve in a circle these characters: 67
61. For another example of placing something under the tongue, see PGM IV. 1745—46. Cf. also
V. 253-54.
62. Cf. Smith, Jesus the Magician 116, who translates: “(in the morning) before you speak to anyone.”
63. The formula is spoken to each of the four winds as the officiant faces them successively. '
64. kukAo? is supplied by Preisendanz, who translates it “Zodiakalkreis.” In the parallel passage in
PGM VII. 284 papyrus has kvkKos SeAyr^s', which Preisendanz translates “Kreislauf des Mondes.”
65. Cf. PGM IV. 1718- 19, 1721 for such a use of Kkivm.
66. The term “angel” can also be read as “messenger.”
67. Among these characters a scarab is drawn.
PGM III. 282-409
27
2TC '^07a. Cover the tripod with dean linen, / and place a censer on the tripod. 295
It is advantageous 68 to place on the table a [hollow figurine] of Apollo out of lau-
rel wood. Engrave [on a lamella] of gold, of silver, or of tin these characters:
• Place the lamella under the censer, near/ the wooden image, 300
which was set up [at the same time as the] censer, and place [next to] the tripod a
beaker or a shell containing [pure] water. In the center of the shrine, surrounding
the tripod, inscribe on the floor with a white stylus the following character. ... It is
necessary to keep yourself pure for three days in advance. The shrine and the [tri-
pod] must be / covered. [If] you wish [to sec], look inside, wearing clean [white] 305
garments [and crowned] with a crown of laurel, 69 which on the head . . . worm-
wood . . . [before the] invocation, sacrifice laurel to him . . . [during the] sacri-
fice / honor the [god] with paians [directed to the sunrise], . . ask . . . [car- 310
damom] . . . holy god . . . [almond blossom] . . . from balsam . . / . and taking ... 315
my thought . . / . a buttercup, after taking, taste . . . four-footed. . . . 320
But the formula that is recited is . . . if you wish [to know ], say these things
which are in the . . . god and all such prophetic . . . worm in ... as for ten days.
Mixing . . / . the heart [with] honey. [Recite] this formula toward the sunrise, 325
[and] you will know in advance during the hour [and during this] day. [After sacri-
ficing,] make a drink offering with dark wine . . . middle . . . say: “Make me know
in advance each of the . . . from . . . and . . . toward the sunrise early / [to know] 330
each of the men [and] to know in advance [what things] each has in his mind [and]
all their essence.”
Single-shooted wormwood, with a single stem, born of the sun, bom of the
moon 70 . . . fruit pulp of the louts, houseleek, a turnip; [wait for] the sunrise in
your house fasting. During the third hour finger . . / . [your] face, say: “[th [6- 335
OU[TH] PIOPIO 71 AUAPS THOOUTH . . . ARS . . . KENON 0OUN PACHEN NO . . .
TOOU E . . . T ARSASOTA YNASPOR . . . THA P . . . MNEPHIELOKNEMEO, give to me
from your effluence.”
[To] the rising of the moon on the thirtieth day [say:] “Come to me, greatest
archangel; come to me xasr xam [tho]out . . . come to me, ruler / of reality, emi 340
THE ... BA THOOUTH THEOREI . . . ENEN PAUPIOU PSIBIOAU ABLANATHANALBA
. . , amoamma. Give to me, NN, memory ... so ... I may know all tilings and I
may understand the things above the. . . .”
. . . toward the sunrise mases . . . saying thus: “I am [the lord ] of the sea. Make
all things . . . / ail things [that will be, so that] I know in advance. Reveal this, the 345
concerns of all men and what things will be . . . toout ang 72 . . . sa . . . out ang
68. Fahz and Prciscndanz take Kakov as modifying i)vfjMX7T)piov , “a beautiful censer.” Here Kakov
has been taken with eotlp ktA.., and the text has been punctuated accordingly. Cf. also PGM IV. 2520
and Bauer, s.v. “/caXoc,” 3. a.
69. The text at this point has many lacunae, and the reconstruction is uncertain. Fahz and Preisen-
danz take the reference to the garments and the laurel to refer to the god who is seen.
70. LSJ, s.v. TjXioyopos, crskiqvoyovos translates these epithets accordingly. However, since se-
lenagmum is attested as a plant (peony) and since a plant name would be appropriate here, one should
perhaps translate “peony.” “Sun-bom” is not attested as a plant name.
71. thoouth pio pio (cf. also 1. 340) is equivalent to Egyptian Dhwtyp 3 c 3 c 3, “Thoth the twice -
great.” Cf. PGM IV. 19. For this tide of Thoth, sec J. D. Ray, The Archive ofHor (London: Egypt Explo-
ration Society, 1976) 158-60; R. K. Ritner, “Hermes Pentamegistos,” Gottinger Miszellen 49 (1981) :
73-75. [R.K.R.]
72. Following G. Mollcr (see the apparatus in Preisendanz ad loc.) this short secrion can also be read
as Coptic: “|I am] Thoth; I am Sa[.]out; I am Em| je[ ]on; I am Alaboul| ]ldrai; I am (?) Na-
treko; [,]m[ ] is your [true] name [...].” [M.W.M.]
28
PGM III. 410-23
EMES ... ON ANG ALABOUL. . . .”
. . . during the tenth hour ...a...n...n precisely . . . ie pekren em . . .
350 ONEI E . . . PO . . . NGAL . . / . just now. . . .”
. . . and at the rising . . . third . . . the upper ... at the rising . . . “cholom
355 CHOL . . . MASKELLI JmASKELLO] / . . . ITHECHTHO . . . lord. . . .”
360 ... from the ... at the same time . . . sun . . . and on . . . yet living . . / . anoint
. . . ablathanalba . . . according to the second formula . . . seventh sunrise . . .
365 you have. / But if [you] want . . . throat of asses . . . the animal . . . tail . . . often
repeating the seventh formula . . . whatever [you wish] . . . from a human head . . .
[the formula], the beginning of which is: “Cause me to know, in order that . . 7 3
370 the ear whatever ... on earth . . . heaven, / the [beginning] . . . the hand accord-
ing to . . . formula.”
But if [you want] . . . and [to read] a written, sealed letter . . . the same seventh
formula: “Do for me the things that are written. . . .”
To read the things that are written, take at [the rising] of the moon . . . carve . . .
375 pieces of honeycomb. Put these in together with . . / . fresh, pleasing, happily as
. . . with the things that are written, after thoroughly mixing, [with] all power daily
... to the sun . . . say [also] the prescribed . . . and that day ... up to half of the
egg . . . put into a small drinking vessel and rub with chalk the parts of the egg, in a
380 place 74 or in a river / where the sun ... to animals and to humans becomes inac-
cessible . . . after bathing and . . . crowned with a crown of the season’s flowers . . .
to an altar, sacrifice on the altar and then take, [as you know,] three loaves of white
bread . . . olive oil, likewise new wine . . . and milk of a [black] cow; in the finest
385 cloaks of shieldbearers and . . . / following. Rub first . . . the half of the egg . . . the
lord ... all things . . . and the substance . . . and after saying the following for-
mula, this the seventh, to the sun thus . . . into a holy, small drinking vessel . . .
after going away and sacrificing ... say also to the sun . . . formula or hymn giving
390 advance knowledge . . . [single-stemmed] wormwood into . . / . saying seven times
. . . Take cardamom and say the holy names . . . for all things belong to the master
. . . whenever you conjure the earth by saying the seventh [formula to the] earth
and all the immortal [gods].
This is the formula : “Come to me, lord . . . holy spirit. . . .”
... in the ninth hour . . . after this the [formula]: “I conjure those with corn-
395 plete power . . . and I conjure [the] earth, the heaven, [the light, and] / him who
[created the universe]” . . . formula spoken of god. While saying [this] formula [to]
a holy . . , 75
400 “. . . my name ... I say that which . . . call . . . my name . . . my true name
405 which . . . who makes . . / . Gabriel, Michael, pyaouete . . . netetetet . . . the
god (?) taaiaiaiaiaialop . . . el.” Seven times you say . . . then say one time or
diree times.
* Tr. : W. C. Grese and M. W. Meyer (Coptic sectioas, 11. 399-409).
PGM III. 410-23
410 * Take a silver tablet and engrave it after the god 7fi sets. Take cow’s milk and pour
73. At the beginning of 1. 369 appears what could be an isolated Coptic name, Hor-Pre; cf. Mollcr,
in the apparatus, who suggests Harpokrates. jR.K.R.j
74. This could also be rendered “a grave.” Cf. LSJ, s.v. “ 767709 ,” 5; also 1. 285 above.
75. Because of the fragmentarv character of this Old Coptic section, little can be given here in trans-
lation. [M.W.A1.J
PGM III. 424-66
29
it. 77 Put down a clean vessel 78 and place the tablet under [it]; add barley meal, mix
and form bread: twelve rolls in the shape of female figures. 79 Say [the formula [ three
times, eat [the rolls] on an empty stomach, and you will know the power.
[It £y]: “borka borka phrix phrix rix o . . . achach amixag ouch thip
LAI LAI LAMLAI LAI LAM MAIL AAAAAAAA IIIY El AI OOOOOOO MOUMOU OYIO NAK
NAK NAX LAINLIMM LA I LAM AEDA . . . LAILAM / AEO OAE OAE EOA AOE EGA OEA,
enter, master, into my mind, and grant me memory, mmm eee mthph.” Do this
monthly, facing the moon, on the first day [of the month]. Prostrate
yourself before the goddess, 80 and wear the tablet as an amulet.
The name of the soul of fjod is: “eikizitelithde then physouskazbtthz
blood.” Write these things with a copper stylus: “I am koou boou pGosm . . .
HOUIT 81 . . . APRIEFMLN IEF . . . MANIOESE NMANIEFIHTENOHEIT RENIRE RE-
NIM E GEINNA 82 EOI . . . EFREF / NGOOU DN1 IESOUS PNETO .” 83 Speak into yOUf
hand seven times in front of the sun, stroke your face, spit, move your thumb from
your nose up to your forehead. Facing the sun, speak seven times into your hand,
spit once, stroke your face, and go on to the procedure and gift: 84 “silibanagou-
NACHAOUEL. . . .”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
415
420
PGM III. 424-66
*A copy from a holy book. Charm that gives foreknowledge and memory:
Take a kakouphon, 85 / which in Egyptian is kakkou[phat, tear out] its heart, perfo- 425
rate it with a reed, [cut] die heart [into pieces], and put them into Attic honey
when the goddess 86 approaches. Then grind the heart on the 1st of the goddess, 87
mix it with the honey, [and eat it] on an empty stomach while saying seven times,
once while tasting with the forefinger, this formula:
“Make me know in advance once and for all the things that are going to happen,
the things that are about to happen, the things that have been done, and all [to-
day’s] activities.”
Say the name seven times, and quickly say / the other usual formulas. . . . 88 430
76. That is, Helios, the sun god.
77. The papyrus has Karax^o'aT], “p our it,” which is not meaningful here. Schmidt, GGA 193
(1931) :451-52, suggests KarakEct^eiv on the basis of Hesychius’ dkedC,eii‘, “to heat up.”The transla-
tion here follows the text of Preisendanz.
78. Schmidr, GGA 193 (1931 ) : 451, adds (els), “into,” which seems necessary to complete the sense
of the phrase, viz., “put it (into] a clean vessel.”
79. It seems only twelve pastry dolls are to be shaped and not an additional loaf and piece of pastry 7 ,
as Preisendanz seems to take it. [R.D.K.]
80. That is, Selene, the moon goddess.
81. Probably Coptic pcosm [ pejhmiit , “the first darkness.” [M.W.M.]
82. Probably read Gehenna. [M.W.M.]
83. Perhaps Coptic, meaning “Jesus our great one.” [M.W.M.]
84. The blessing given in response to the procedure. Cf. PGM IV. 198. See also A.-J. Fcstugiere, “La
Valcur religieu.se dcs papyrus magicjues,” in his L’Idcal religieux des Grecs ct PEvangile (Paris: Gabalda,
1932) 293; Bonner, SAM 178-79.
85. Cf. on this term PGM II. 18 and n.
86. That is, Selene, the moon goddess.
87. This refers to the first day of the lunar month.
88. Apparently the scribe forgot to add the formula for the second day; therefore an ellipsis has been
inserted.
30
PGM III. 467-78
[While tasting] on the third, say the name lailam [sanJkanthara (add the
usual). 89 [On the] 4th of the moon say [the] 4th name, epimno; on the 5th, the
5th name, saying seven times ekenth . . . [on the 6th], the sixth name, amoun
amoun; on the 7th of the moon, [the 7th name] . . . ra pregxicharoth; on the
8th, the 8di name, eisi ousiri .amoun [amoun; 90 on the 9th], the 9th name,
phorphorbarzagra; [on the 10th], the 10th name, zazouchor damniotE; on
the eleventh, the eleventh name, chrysa chr[ysa] eyae chrysoes eire chry-
soegethrel . . . ron; on the twelfth, the twelfth name, and taste twelve times,
athab . . . enigrapsathir . . . psano . . . ase; [on the 13th, say the 13th name],
435 artemi damno damno / lykaina; 91 on the fourteenth, say the [fourteenth name] .
This is the 14th name: harpon [chnouphi] brintatenOphri briskylma ore-
obazagra. On the fifteenth, the fifteenth name, sesengen barpharagges agab
. . . aeeioyo (add the usual formulas, as much as you want, saying it on each day) .
When the moon [wanes], say [the formula] in hexameter, saying it seven times
until it is again the fourteenth of the goddess. But beware, lest it be in conjunction
. . . each day . . . and the whole composition of the divine arrangement be undone.
[For] the lord [god] speaks. A procedure greater than this one does not exist. It has
440 been tested / by Manethon, 92 [who] received [it] as a gift from god Osiris the
greatest. Perform it, perform it successfully and silently.
Formula spoken . . . and . . . the sun : “Hail, absolute ruler, hail, hail, [forefather
. . . damnam]eneu [abrasax] . . . k . . . ElEl, one holy . . . sabele sabEle
KA. . . ”
445 . . . [Foreknowledge} . . . Moses . . . and . . / . for memory , [say] the following
[formula] each [day]: “. . . imea . . . abrasax ... [to know] oehao . . . iao
450 sabao[th] . . . great . . . labe[zebyth] . . . abraxas tae ” . . / . .
But in this way draw a boy and you . . . later, and you will hear the birds chat-
455 tering . . . seven of fennel and of sesame, of black cumin ... I [take] these and
crush them, with spring water . . the moon being second, and you will hear all
things. . . .
“...lam iee ioeE ie iao isi . . . [the things in cite] minds of men, because
I ”
460 . . . pray to him. But .. I . but a swallow 93 of diis comes . . . this your formula
repeat seven times . . . formula , which you say: “Hail, Helios, Mithras. . .
465 ... this holy water . . . this one has in his mind ... I that day [you] know . . .
but if [you] touch, [you will have] a semitertian [fever].
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM III. 467-78
470 * Memory spell: Take first ... 2 calf’s snouts, “Hermes’ finger” ... I taste, and
prostrate yourself while saying three times to Helios: “[Enter,] ma ... a kmeph
ARSO ARSO THOUTH . . . O TIOI E.OI POMPOM PHRE [IARBATHA CHRAMNE] . . .
upon my heart, [having granted] memory to my soul, to my eyes [salbanacham-
89. As one can see from 1. 436 below, the direction “add the usual” (Kotva) is to be understood after
each day.
90. That is, Osiris, Amon in vocatives.
91. “She- wolf” is an epithet of the goddess Artemis. See also PGM IV. 2302— 3; 2550.
92. Tire name Manetho probably refers to an Egyptian priest and historian of the third cent. B.C.,
the man who was instrumental in the setting up of the cult of Sarapis. Cf. also PGM XII. 23; Plutarch,
De Is. et Os. 28, 362A; Iamblichus, Myst. 8.1. See Griffiths, Plutarch’s Delside et Osiride 78- 82; H.-J.
Thissen, “Manetho,” LdA 3 (1980): 1180-81.
93. The cliff, or chimney swallow. [J.S.'J
PGM III. 494-611
31
bre . . .] / monarch, the one who rules over all . . . ablan oooo adonie aeo . . .
in order that, whatever I hear once, [I might remember it throughout] mv lifetime.''
*Tr.:W. C.Grcsc.
PGM III. 479-83
* Foreknowledge charm: Take [. . . parts] fleawort, [and say to] / the height of
the heavenly circle: “The thief. . . the only great god, [come to me] from an assem-
bly on the 6th day ... to happen, Helios.”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese. This and rhe two variant charms to follow serve as spells to “prognosti-
cate” the identity or whereabouts of a thief.
PGM III. 483-88
* Another [copy ] : “. . . ala.aang xicha micha ang e . . . / erotpitenphet
nprome, 94 [having] a gold-colored [crown on the] head, turn to [die thief who
took away the NN thing], kill, cleave him and . . . but if you behead. . . .”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM III. 488-94
* Another: Take a wing . . . / “aoo; then, according to the same . . . lo
[PHNOU]KENT ABAOTH . . . DO . . . OLEAIS . . . KA . . . TA K. . - .”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese. This is presumably another spell to detect a thief; see the note appended
to PGM III. 479- 83, above.
PGM III. 494-611
* [Spell to establish a relationship with] Helios. A procedure for every [rite], for
[all things]. / For whatever you want, invoke in this way: “[Come,] come to me
from the four winds of the world, air- trans versing, great god. Hear me in every
ritual which [I perform], and grant all the [petitions] of my prayer completely, be-
cause I know your signs, / [symbols and] forms, who you are each hour and what
your name is. 95
“In the first hour you have the form and character of a young monkey; [the tree]
you produce is the silver fir; the stone, the aphanos the bird . . . your name is
phrouer. 97
“In the second hour you have the form of a unicorn; the tree you produce is the
persea; the stone, the pottery stone; 98 / the bird, the halouchakon; 99 on land, the
ichneumon; your name is bazetophoth.
“In the third hour you have the form of a cat; the tree you produce is the fig tree;
the stone, the samouchos; 100 the bird, the parrot; on land, the frog; your name is
akrammachamare i .
“In the fourth hour you have the form of a bull; the tree you produce / . . . the
94. This is Coptic and means “to the man.” [R.K.R.]
95. In his twelve-hour course through the heavens, the sun is identified here with ancient theriomor-
phic and totemistic forms. Also, the sun’s creative activities are identified with certain hours. See for this
Gundel, Weltbild und Astrologie 5—6. Cf. PGM II. 104—15 and n.
96. The identification of litbos aphanos is uncertain; literally it means “invisible stone” (clear quartz?).
IJ-S-l
97. phrouer is Egyptian for “Pre the great.” [R.K.R.]
98. On the pottery stone see Pliny, NH 37. 152.
99. Otherw ise unidentified.
100. According to LSJ, this word is a hapax legomenon. Preisendanz identifies it with i//a/xjiot>xo?,
a sandstone (not attested in LSJ).
101. Fahz reads yevvips SevSpov [>ca]t ki&oi\ “you produce a tree [and] stone.” This should prob-
ably be understood to refer to holly oak and a brick-red opal. Cf. also n. 102. [J.S.]
475
480
485
490
495
500
505
510
32
PGM III. 494-61 1
stone, 101 the amethyst; 102 the bird, the turtledove; on land, the bull; your name is
DAMNAMENEUS.
“In the fifth hour you have the form of a lion; the tree you produce is the prickly
shrub; the stone, the magnet; [the bird] ... on land, the crocodile; your name is
PHOKENGEPSEUARETATHOUMISONKTAIKT.
515 “In the sixth hour vou have the form of a donkey; the tree / you produce is the
thorn tree; the stone, lapis lazuli; in the sea, the jellyfish; 103 on [land, the white-
faced cow]; your name is eiau aicri lyx. . . .
“[In the seventh hour] you have the form of a [cravfish; the tree you produce]
520 . . . [you produce] . . . ; [the stone, the sun opal; 104 / the bird] ... on land, the cat;
[your name is]. . . .
“In the eighth [hour] you have the form . . . [the tree you produce] . . . [the
stone] . . . the bird . . . [on land], the hippopotamus; [your] name [is]. . . .
525 “In the ninth [hour] you have the form of an ibis; [the tree / you produce] . . .
[the stone] ... on land, the chameleon; [your name]. . . .
“In the tenth hour [you have] the form . . . ; [the tree you produce] . . . the
stone, one the color of a falcon’s neck; [the bird], . . .
530 / “In the twelfth [hour you have the form] . . . [your name is] ADONAI . . .
[and]. . . .
535 “. . . / GABRIEL ALLOEA . . . OUREEDYDIE THARABRACHIRIGX IARBATHACH-
RAMNEPHIBAOCHNYMEO 105 KAMPYKRIL . . . ELAMMARE.
“I have spoken your signs and symbols. Therefore, lord, do the NN deed by ne-
cessity, lest I shake heaven. Do the NN deed for me; you are the image, the whole
of the universe, [you] who, after being selected, 106 guarded the holy place of
540 the / great king. Do the NN deed for me, the one who keeps the keys of the tri-
angular paradise of earth, which is the kingdom. Do the NN deed for me, the fa-
therless child of an honored 107 widow, boiathyrith, lest they take away from me
545 the lord’s fatherland and so that all / good things happen by command, phoken-
GEPSEUARETATHOUMISONKTAIKT MASKELLI MASKELLO PHNOUNKENTABAO AO-
RIO ZAGRA RESICHTHON HIPPOCHTHON PYROSPARIPEGANYX KAILAM IALMIO
LILIMOULEALABAENEREDEMOU ”
550 “Come 108 to me in / your holy circuit of
The holy spirit, founder of die world,
O god of gods, lord of the world, who have
Divided by your own divine spirit
The universe; first from the firstborn you
102. Pliny identifies TroahEposs as an opal (NH 37. 84) or an amethyst (NH 37. 123). It has been
rendered here as amethyst because in 37.80 Pliny says opals come only from India. See the note by D. E.
Eicholz, LCL edition of Pliny’s Natural History , vol. 10, p. 230, n. a. [J.S. j
103. The term literally means “glass fish.” [M.S.]
104. The translation of 7jXto7rdA.ios is uncertain.
105. Cf. for this name PGM I. 143 and n.
106. Following Preisendanz’s translation as “Ausc rwah ltcr. ”
107. The papyrus reads KaTaTETifXT]fjLsv7)\y], a verb not attested elsewhere. The meaning could also
be “despised.” Preiscndanz suggests that the widow is Isis and the magician identifies himself with
Horns. Probably, the translation “dishonored” is to be preferred, because it would refer to the murder of
Isis’ husband and her subsequent flight to the swamps of Chcmmis to raise her son Horns. For Horus as
orphan, see Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts 69, no. 92. [R.K.R.]
108. These dactylic hexameters, man}- of which are metrically faulty, are also the reconstructed
Hymn 2, for which see Preisendanz, vol. II, p. 238. JE.N.O.)
PGM III. 494-611
33
Appeared, 109 created carefully, from water
That’s turbulent, who founded all the world:
Abyss, earth, / fire, water, air, and in turn 555
Ether and roaring rivers, red-faced moon.
Heaven’s stars, morning stars, the whirling planets. 110
’Tis by your counsels they attend all things ”
“You who summon . . . amochl . . . phodoph . . . m . . . arphtho . . .
IBK / PSOUPHIS [TOM] . . . OIOTH OPHROUER CHMEIB HARPONKNOUPHI BRIN- 560
TATENOPHRI BRISKYLMA HAROUAR ZARBAMESEG KRIPHI NIGTHOU MICHMOU-
MAOPH IAOLI PRIN ASTRAPTES 111 AI CH EAO KI RTAB AO ZAALE ASRXSKI . . . OU BRIT-
hei STOMA ," 2 master. Come to me, / lord, you who sometimes raise the light, 565
sometimes lower the darkness [with] your own power. Hear me, lord, me, NN,
graciously, gladly and for a blessing, from every element from every wind, today,
with your happy face, in the present hour, because / 1 invoke your holy name from 570
every side. You who were begotten in every human body, inspire us . 113 From the
right of the axis your [name] is: ‘iaO aoi Oai [oya] 006666 aaaaaa iy . . . Oai,’
but from the left of the axis: ‘iao ayo ioai / pipi 006 00 in ayO . . . Oa oai.’ 575
Come to me with a happy face to a bed of your choice, giving to me, NN, suste-
nance, health, safety, wealth, the blessing of children, knowledge, a ready hearing,
goodwill, sound judgment, honor, memory, grace, shapeliness, beauty to / all who 580
see me; you who hear me in everything whatsoever, give persuasiveness with words,
great god, to the eyaeO io iaO Oai OiO eayi tas erchis auxachoch har-
samosi. I beg, master, accept my entreaty, the offering to you which you com-
manded. In order that you might now illuminate me with knowledge of things be-
loved by you / even after the kind restoration of my material body, I pray, lord, 585
accept this my request, [the] entreaty, the preliminary spell, the offering of my elo-
quent spirit. Let it also come to you, the ruler of all, in order that / you fulfill all the 590
petitions of my prayer, you who originated from gods ." 4 We give you thanks with
every soul and heart stretched out to [you ], 115 unutterable name honored with [the]
appellation of god and blessed with the [appellation of father], for to everyone 116
and to everything you have shown fatherly / goodwill, affection, friendship and 595
sweetest power, granting us intellect, [speech,] and knowledge; intellect so that we
might understand you, speech [so that] we might call upon you, knowledge so that
we might know you ." 7 We rejoice because you showed yourself to us; we rejoice
109. This refers to the sun god’s appearance from the waters of Nun, the primordial abyss. Cf. PGM
I. 34-36. [R.K.R.)
110. There arc three types of star referred to here: derrepa? (I) depious, (2) e&wus, (3) irEptStvo-
■n \am 77 a 5 . On eciov? as morning star, cf. Ptolemy, Tetrab. 3. 4 (114). [E.N.O.]
111. Or “before you hurl lightning.”
112. Or “mouth is full.”
113. Ep. 7 TVEVjjLaTil(ti is not otherwise attested. Cf. CM. 13.19 with Keifs conjecture irvEvp.ari£,£,
cited by Nock and Festugicre, Hermes Trismegiste II, p. 208, in the critical apparatus to 1. 17.
114. The section in 11. 591—609 has close parallels in Ps.-Apulcius, Ascleptus 41 (cd. Nock and Fes-
rugierc, Hermes Trismegiste II, pp. 353—55) and NHC VI, 7; 63, 33—65, 7. See Robinson, The Nag
Hammadi Library in English 298-99; P. Dirkse and J. Brashler, “The Prayer of Thanksgiving,” in Nag
Hammadi Codices V, 2-5 and VI, with Papyrus Berolinensis 8502, 1 and 4, NHSt 11 (Leiden: Brill, 1979)
375—87. Cf. also Iamblichus, Myst. 10. 8 ; CM. 13. 18—20, with the discussion by Gresc, Corpus Her-
meticum XIII, pp. 183-88.
115. Following Nock and Festugicre, Hermes Trismegiste II, p. 353.
116. Following J.-P. Mahe, Hermes cn Haute-Egypt. Les textes hermetiques de Nag Hammadi et leurs
paralleles grecs et latins, vol. 1 (Quebec: Les presses de funiversitc Laval, 1978) 160-61.
1 1 7. Following Nock and Festugicre , Hermes Trismegistc II, p. 354.
34
PGM III. 612—32
600 because while we are / [still] in bodies you deified us by the knowledge of who you
are. The thanks of man to you is one: to come to know [you], O womb 518 of all
knowledge. We have come to know, O womb 1,9 pregnant through the father’s be-
605 getting. We have come to know, / O eternal continuation of the pregnant father.
After bowing thus before your goodness, 120 we ask no [favor except this]: 121 will
that we be maintained in knowledge of you; and one protection: 122 that [we] not
610 fall away from a [life] such as this. . . .”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese (1!. 494-549; 558—611) and E. N. O’Neil (hymnic sections, 11. 549-58).
PGM III. 612-32
* [If you make] an offering of whcaten meal and ripe mulberries and unsoftened 123
(?) sesame and uncooked tbrion and throw into this a beet, you will gain control of
615 your own shadow 124 / so that it [will serve] you. Go at the sixth hour of the day,
toward [the rising sun], to a deserted place, girt about with a [new] dark-colored
palmfiber basket, and on your head a scarlet cord as a headband, behind your right
620 ear / the feather of a falcon, behind your left that of an ibis.
Having reached the place, 125 [prostrate] yourself, stretch out your hands, and
utter the following formula : “Cause now my shadow to serve me, because I know
625 your sacred names [and] your signs and / your symbols, and [who you are at each
hour], and what your name is.” 126
Having said this, [utter] the formula given above, 127 and in case he does not
[hearken, say]: 128 “I have uttered your sacred names and [your signs] and your sym-
630 bols, wherefore, O lord, 120 cause / my [shadow] to serve me.” [And] at the seventh
[hour] it will come to you before [your] face, and you address it [and say] : “Follow’
me everywhere!” But [look] to it, that it not leave you.
*Tr. J. M. Dillon. Sec the introductory note on PGM III. 494-611. This unique spell to
acquire control over one’s shadow may be part of the whole Encounter with Helios con-
tained i n II 1 . 494 — 731. The Coptic section to follow ( PGM III. 633— 731) belongs with this
section, and the mention of the “signs and symbols” in 1. 625 connects this spell to die pre-
ceding; furthermore, the mention of die “formula given above” (1. 626) must refer to a for-
mula given in the preceding spell, probably the formula found in III. 494ff. The appearance
of one’s shadow is thus the proof of Helios’ appearance requested in PGM III. 494-731.
118. Following Nock and Festugiere, Hermes Trismegiste II, p. 355.
119. On the role of the uterus in magic, see A. A. Barb, “Diva Matrix,” JW Cl 16 (1953) : 193—238.
Cf. also PGM V. 158.
120. Following Malic, Hermes 164—65.
121. Ibid.
122. Following Mahe, Hermes 166—67, and Dirksc and Brashler, “The Prayer of Thanksgiving,”
384-85.
123. Preisendanz reads d[r>£K]xu'ro^, a word otherwise unattested. More likely would be the restora-
tion d[8ui]xurov, “not softened by cooking”; hence the translation here. [R.D.K.]
124. Cf. DMP col. IV, 1. 23 for a spell for “lucky shadows” (wd hyb.t) . [R.K.R.] See also Betz, “The
Delphic Maxim,” 163-64.
125. Literally, “treading about in the place.”
126. Cf. 11. 499-501 for a similar expression. It seems that the deity invoked has a different appear-
ance even’ hour. See also the introduction to this spell and its possible relationship with PGM III.
494-61L
127. That is, the formula given in 494-536, particularly die section containing the signs and
symbols.
128. Following Preiscndanz’s restoration. This hardly seems suitable, as one would rather expect,
“And when you arc finished, say. . . .” [J.M.D.]
129. The “lord” addressed in this spell is Helios, die sun god, mentioned in III. 494-611.
PGM III. 633-731
35
PGM III. 633-731
* Call . . . , “Great god . . . , you who are the sun. Re is your name / . . . the glow-
ing flames . . . my nail (?) . . . Em ... is your name, Em ... [is your true name]
. . . crown ... my name . . . [aeeb]eeihiooo[ooyyyyyyo]6666[o]6 / ... I of
the great god . . . [Nef] is my name, Nef is my true name . . . Praise' 30 be to (?)
sabaoth adonai ADON BARBARipT . , . of Lo son of Ouer 131 ... I whose face is
in the middle of . . . of Lo son of Ouer . . . whose face is in the middle of ... in
truth. For I am . . . For I am Lotus-Lion-Ram 132 ... / Lotus, reveal yourself . . .
For [I] am ... all (repeat). 133 1 am Oh, I am aeeioy[o aeeioyo] a[eeioyo aeei]
oyo [aeei] oyo aeeioyo aeei[oy]o aeeioy[o] . . . , and we are strong (?) ... of
Shmoun 134 ... I until you offer incense to Horus. I am Oh, I know [your name]
. . . little, every time, at every hour. Come, go . . . what you want (repeat). For Ei is
your name, Ei is the name of you. I . . . Totf; Totf is my true name (add the usual
[?]) as you wish, after . . . the (formula) I am Kat son of Kat, whom Kat has borne
...II am the [breath] of night ... I am Abriabot, the . . . the great snake . . .
[Thoth the great] of Shmoun . . . the god Horus . . . , ([add the usual] as you
wish). For I am Iethor, 135 who wants to . . . I . . . who ... I frog ... is my name
. . . the great god who will do . . .To son of To 136 is your name . . . father. / You are
Earth-shaker, 137 the High One, the son of Re, the [great] god ... in the abyss, who
is in ... all the earth . . . (add the usual, as you wish) . . . he who does ... I am
... I am the one who ... in him . . . / For ... I am lo . . . is [my] name [. . . is]
my true name ... To the great is my [true] name . . .”
. . . this day . . . speak to Helios 138 . . . / on the third day, also to the moon 139
... at the third entrance of the goddess, go to an ever-flowing river . . . bathe, and
go in pure garments . . . , having drunk ... a solitary place, hold toward the rising
sun a white rooster without blemish and twelve pinecones whorled 14<) to the right.
Offer milk and pour a libation of white wine, / and say the designated seven for-
mulas [seven] times, requesting an encounter with [the] god . . . yourself. He will
show ... let him dwell (?) 141 for seven days. Set up . . . toward the moon, with
purity; and when you see the god in this place, feast [in an appropriate manner]. 142
So when you encounter the god, say the formula for a direct vision, and request
foreknowledge from the master. / Go down to a pure and consecrated place, and
130. Cf. PGM IV. 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19.
131. For OUER cf. Egyptian bt, “die great one.” [R.K.R.]
132. This corresponds to SERPOT-MOUI-SRO. Cf. PDM xiv. 12 and the note by Griffith and Thomp-
son, The Leyden Papyrus on DMP col. 1, 1. 12. On the solar character of this designation of the sun in the
morning, at midday, and in the evening, i.e., the universal sun in three manifestations (Re-Khcpri-
Atum), see M.-L. Rhyner, “A propos dc trigrammes pantheistes,” Revue d’Egyptologie 29 (1977):
125-37. [M.W.M.j
133. Apparent instructions for the repetition of the formulas either forward or backward. Cf. 11. 667,
669, 682. But if this is the equivalent of Greek koivov (see Preisendanz’s text at 1. 682), we are to under-
stand “(add die usual)”; thus the translation, as in several instances below.
134. Shmoun (Hcrmopolis, El-Eshmunen) is the city of the god Thoth. Sec on the name A. H.
Gardiner , Ancient Egyptian Onomastica (London: Oxford University Press, 1968) II, 79*— 81*. See for
the name also below, I. 672.
135. That is in Egyptian “eye of Horus.”
136. Possibly, To is “land”; hence at III. 687 “the great land.”
137. For km pto cf. PGM IV. 1323; PDM xiv. 192.
138. That is, the sun god Helios.
139. The moon goddess Selene; see also 1. 697.
140. See the note at PGM II. 25.
141. The text is uncertain at this point; perhaps olkeltos is to be read instead of olktjtw. [M.W.M.]
142. Supplying in the lacuna eJmrjjjSes, following Schmidt, GGA 193 (1931) :456.
635
640
651
655
660
665
670
675
680
685
690
695
700
36
PGM IV. 1-25
again sacrifice a rooster, and while in pure garments secretly [grasp the other
things] which are necessary as symbols . . . god (dess) . . . third . . . , hold in you r
right hand a [single-stemmed] wormwood and in your left a snakeskin, and recite
705 the [specified] formulas [and] what you wish, and it will happen. Recite often / . . .
written down ... to learn something, it is told to you by the god. And if you . . . ,
write . . . and wrap in linen from head to foot . . . , and on the ground draw Har-
pokrates holding [his finger] 143 to his mouth, and in his left hand clutching a flail
710 and a crook 144 . . . then “abianathanalba”; in wing ... 145 / “abrasax”: near
the back, “oEaua . . . ,” and set the child on it, and write the 5th formula . . . :
“efeintok 146 . . . te uonefiouoi.” Also use this treatment often: take away . . .
from before him the linen, and let him behold, and he will see; and ask [him] . . .
715 on the tenth day . . . in the morning of the first (formula?), then the / first for a
second time in die morning of the ... let these things be . . . two bricks . . . under
720 papyrus . . . head . . . hole ... I hold in your hands . . . this . . . and say the ... in
725 each . . . as . . . litde ... all ... on these . . . great . . . / both . . . formulas before
730 . . . formulas with the . . . and all . . . and . . . pit . . . you make / call the olive . . .
pure. . . .
:i! Tr.: M. W. Mever. For the connection of the spell with the preceding, see the introductory
notes at PGM III. 494-611 and III. 612-32.
PGM TV. 1—25
*“saphphaior baelkota kikatoutara ekennk lix, the great daimon and the
5 inexorable one, 1 . . . ipsentanchoucheoch / doou shamai arabennak an-
TRAPHEU BALE SITENGI AR.TEN BENTEN AKRAB ENTH OUANTH BALA SHOUPLA
srahenne dehenne kalashou chatemmok bashne bala shamai — on the
day of Zeus 2 in the first hour, but on the [day] of deliverance 3 in the fifth hour: a
10 cat ... / in the eighth: a cat. 4 Praise 5 be to Osiris, the king of the underworld, the
lord of embalming, he who is at the south of This, who is honored at Abydos, he
who is under 6 the noubs tree 7 in Merouse, 8 whose glory is in Pashalom. 9 Praise be
15 to Althabot; bring unto to me Sabaoth. / Praise be to Aithonai, great Eou, very
valiant; bring unto me Michael, the mighty (?) angel who is with God. Praise be to
143. Supplying in the lacuna [ tov 8cwrn}]A.ioi\ [M.W.M.]
144. For depictions similar to the one here see Budge, Amulets and Talismans 206-7; Bonner, SMA,
p. IX, nos. 189-94.
145. Perhaps, “in wing formation.”
146. This is equivalent to Demotic iw.fr in.t.k ., “He shall bring you.” [R.K.R.]
1. See for this term Wortmann, “Neue magische Texte,” 101; on the verb napaiTe <o, sec Betz, “Frag-
ments,” 291.
2. That is, Thursday.
3. Perhaps Sunday.
4. These enigmatic phrases arc instructions for the use of the spell.
5. This passage is parallel to TDM xiv. 627-35. Sec F. LI. Griffith, “The Old Coptic Magical Texts of
Paris ” ZAS 38 (1900) : 86-93. [R.K.R.]
6. Or “under the shade of the noubs tree.”
7. According to Griffith, ZAS 38 (1900) : 87, at Pnubs the noubs tree was sacred to Thoth. Sec on
this point Brugsch, Dictionnaire 334—35.
8. Mcroc is the capita! of an ancient state in the Sudan. Sec Bonnet, RARG 456-57, s.v. “Meroe.”
9. Cf. also PDM xiv. 627-29. Pashalom is the capital of the nomc in which Abydos is also located.
Situated to the south of This, Abydos is the holy city where the head of Osiris was buried. See Griffiths,
Plutarch’s Dc hide et Osiride 362 n. 1.
PGM IV. 26-51
37
Anubis, of the nome of Hansiese, 10 upon his mountain. 11 Praise be to the god-
desses — Thoth the great, the great, the wise. Praise be to the gods, / achnoui 20
ACHAM ABRA abra SABAOTH. 12 For Akshha Shha 11 is my name, Sabashha is my
true name; Shlot Shlot very valiant is my name. So let him who is in the under-
world join him who is in the hr; let them arise, come in, and bring me news / of 25
the matter about which I ask them” (add the usual) .
*Tr.: M. W. Mcver. This request for an oracle mav be part of the larger spell contained in
PGM IV. 1-85. ^
PGM IV. 26-51
* Initiation: 14 Keep yourself pure for 7 days beforehand. On the third of the
month, go to a place from which the Nile has recently receded, before anyone walks
on the area that was flooded — or at any rate, to a place tit at has been inundated by
the Nile. / On two bricks iS standing on their sides, build a fire with olive wood 30
(that is, with a branch of it) when half of the sun is above the horizon; but before
the sun appears, dig a trench around the altar. When the disk of the sun is fully
above the horizon, / cut off the head of an unblemished, solid white cock which 35
[you are to carry] under your left arm (and do dig the trench around 16 the altar
before the sun appears). 17 When you arc beheading the cock, fix it in place [with
your knees] 18 and hold it down all by yourself. / Throw the head into the river and 40
drink up the blood, draining it off into your right hand and putting what’s left of
the body on the burning altar. Then jump into the river. Immerse yourself in the
clothes you have on, walk backwards 19 out of the water, and, after changing into
fresh garments, / depart without turning round. 20 After this, take bile from an owl, 45
rub some of it over your eyes with the feather of an ibis, and your initiation will be
complete. But if you can’t get hold of an owl, use an ibis’s egg and a falcon’s
feather. / Bore a hole in the egg, insert the feather, break it open, and thereby get 50
the fluid to rub on yourself.
*Tr.: Hubert Martin, jr.
10. The location is unknown. Cf. Ha-si-ise-t , “house of the son of Isis.” See A. H. Gardiner ? Ancient
Egyptian Onomastica (London: Oxford University Press, 1968) II, 29* (no. 341A). One conjecture is
that of Brugsch, Dictiannaire 659, who has identified Hansiese as a site (Chcnoboskia?) near Koptos and
Dendera in Upper Egypt.
11. This refers to an ancient title of Anubis. Cf. PDM xiv. 174. In this connection one should also
note the relationship berween mountain , desert, and cemetery in ancient Egypt.
12. Hebrew for “Lord, Lord of Hosts;” ABRA may be a variation of arba (Heb. “four”) designating
the tetragrammaton. Sec Blau, Das altjiidische Zauberwescn 126; Domseiff, Das Alphabet 64; A. Barb,
“Abraxas- Studien,” in Hommages a W. Deonna (Bruxelles: Latomus, 1957) 67-86.
13. Or “jeakshha shha”; but cf. PGM IV. 77, also III. 658, 659, 661, 667, 673, etc., for other
examples of the common formula “for ... is my name” or “for I am. ...”
14. The purpose of this rite is not clear (cf. 1. 48). It may have simply been a part of the longer ritual
of the context.
15. On the magical use of bricks for both the living and the dead, see J. Monnet, “Les Briques ma-
giques du Musccdu Louvre,” Remre d'Egyptohgie S (1951) : J51—62. [R.K.R.]
16. Or “dig a trench around,” which may in fact mean “walk around” and refer to the ritual circum-
ambulation. See W. Pax, “Circumambulatio,” RAC 3 (1957) : 143—52.
17. Sec 1. 33 above.
18. The phrase “with your knees” is a conjecture based on PGM IV. 227-28.
19. Cf. the injunctions to walk backwards at PGM I. 37; IV. 2493; XXXVI. 273.
20. Presumably, the initiate is to turn away from the river after he is our of the water and to depart
without looking back at the river. Perhaps he is being instructed to depart by walking backwards. The
text is not entirely clear; cf. for similar circumstances PGM VII. 439-40, For looking back and its con-
sequences, cf. the story of Lot’s wife (Gn 19:17, 26) and the injunction in Lk 17:31-32; Mt 24:
15-18 (cf. Lk 9:62). '
38
PGM IV. 52-85
PGM TV, 52-85
*Keep yourself pure for 7 days before the moon becomes full by abstaining from
meat and uncooked food, by leaving behind during die prescribed days exactly
55 half / of your food in a turquoise 21 vessel, over which you are also to eat, and by
abstaining from wine. When the moon is foil, go by yourself to the eastern section
60 of your city, village, or house and throw out / on the ground the leftover morsels.
Then return very quickly to your quarters and shut yourself in before he 22 can get
there, because he will shut you out if he gets there before you. But before you throw
out the morsels, fix in the ground at a slight angle a verdant reed that is about two
cubits long, tie some hairs from a stallion about the midsection of a horned dung
65 beede, and suspend / the beetle from die reed by them. Then light a lamp diat has
not been used before and place it under the beetle in a new earthenware dish, so
that the heat from the lamp barely reaches the beetle. Stay calm after you have
70 thrown out the morsels, gone to your quarters, and shut yourself in; / for the one
you have summoned will stand diere and, by threatening you with weapons, will
try to force you to release the beetle. But remain calm, and do not release it until he
gives you a response; then release it right away. And every day during the period of
purification when you are about to eat and to go to bed, speak the following spell 7
75 times (you are to say them again / when you return to your quarters after throwing
out the food). Keep it secret: “You with the wooden neck, you with the clay (?)
face, 23 come in to me, for I am Sabertoush, the great god who is in heaven .”
The phylactery for the foregoing: With blood from the hand or foot of a preg-
80 nant woman, / write the name 24 given below on a clean piece of papyrus; then tie it
about your left arm by a linen cord and wear it. Here is what is to he written:
“shteit chien tenha, I bind and loose.”
The dismissal: When you release the beetle, say: “Harko, Harko is my name;
Harko is my true name.”
85 Guard these instructions / well. The rite: an onion. 25
*Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr., and Marvin W. Meyer (Coptic sections, 11. 75-77, 81-82,
83-84).
PGM TV, 86-87
* Phylactery against daimons: 26 “ homenos ohk kouriel iaphel , deliver” (add
the usual), “ehenperoou barbarchaouche .”
*Tr.: Marvin W. Meyer. This brief spell seems to have no connection with the preceding or
following spells.
21. A bluc-grccn glazed potter)', almost certainly Egyptian faience. See A. Lucas and J. R. Harris,
Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries (London: Arnold, 1962) 156— 67, esp. 163—64. [R.K.R.]
22. “He” is the one summoned (1. 70), but “he” is never identified.
23. Probably referring to a day or terracotta figurine on a wooden pedestal. [M.W.M.]
24. The “name” may have included not only sabertoush but also the attached epithets: in magical
texts “name” often means “full title.” The Greek irpov'iroKsifjcEvov normally means “given above,” but it
can also be read as meaning “set forth below.” This latter interpretation (accepted by Preisendanz)
would eliminate the apparent contradiction between this and the following sentence. However, the fol-
lowing sentence may be a deliberate contradiction by a glossator. |M.S.]
25. This is probably an abbreviated way of saying, “LTsc the procedure that involves an onion.”
26. Or “For those possessed by daimons,” which seems the better reading of the papyrus. The manu-
script has 77 pos Sat/£ovta£o/i.£vo(v)y. Sec A. Erman, ZAS 21 (1883) :99 (plate III, 1. 25) and Preisen-
danz, apparatus ad loc. The invocation which begins with ohk is separated by a space and -^o/xei'o? is
written with the same Greek letter forms as the preceding ones. [R.D.K.]
PGM IV. 94-153
39
PGM TV. 88-93
* Another, 27 to Helios: Wrap a naked boy in linen from head to toe, 26 then clap
your hands. After making a ringing noise, place the boy opposite / the sun,™ and 90
standing behind him say th c formula :
“ I am Barbarioth; Barbarioth am I; peskout yaho adonai eloai sabaoth,
come in to this little one today, for I am Barbarioth ”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese and Marvin W. Meyer (Coptic sections, 11. 91-93).
PGM IV. 94-153
* Isis is the one who comes from the mountain at midday 30 in summer, the dusty
maiden; / her eyes are full of tears and her heart is full of sighs" 95
Her father, Thoth the Great, came in unto h er and asked her, “O my daughter
Isis, dusty maiden, why are your eyes full of tears, your heart full of sighs, and [the
. . .] of your garment soiled? [Away with] the tears of your eyes!”
She said [to him], “He is not with me, 31 O my father, Ape Thoth, Ape / [Thoth], 100
my fa ther. I have been betrayed by my female companion. I have discovered [a]
secret: yes, Nephthys is having intercourse with Osiris . . . my brother, my own
mother’s son.”
He said to her, “Behold, this is adultery against you, O my daugh ter Isis.”
She [said] to him, “It is adultery against you, O my father, / [Ape] Thoth, Ape 105
Thoth, my father; it is pregnancy proper for me myself.” 32
He said to her, “Arise, O my daughter Isis, and [go] to the south to Thebes, to
the north to Abydos. 33 There are . . . those who trample (?) there. Take for yourself
Belf son of Belf, [the one whose] foot is of bronze and whose heels are of iron,"/ 110
[that] he forge for you a double iron nail with a . . . head, a thin base, a strong
point, and light iron. Bring it before me, dip it in the blood of Osiris, 34 and hand it
over; we . . . this mysterious (?) flame to me.”
“ / Every flaming, every cooking, every heating, 35 every steaming, and every 115
sweating that you [masc.] will cause in this flaming stove, you [will] cause in the
heart, in the liver, [in] the area of the navel, and in the belly of NN whom NN has
borne, until I bring her to the house of NN whom NN has borne 36 and she puts
what is in / her hand into my hand, what is in her mouth into my mouth, what is in 120
her belly onto my belly, what is in her female parts onto my male parts, quickly'
quickly; immediately, immedi ately. Rise up to the kings of Alchah, 37 speak the truth
(?) in Oupokc, arouse god [after] NN 38 whom NN has borne, and I shall send
27. Presumably this is another request for divination (cf. PGM IV. 1—25, 52—85). In fact, the spell is
specifically a “divination using a boy,” for which cf. PGM VII. 348—58; also Test. Sol. I. 3.
28. Cf. for this phrase PDM xiv. 96.
29. That is, Helios, the sun god.
30. Cf. PDM xiv. 1219.
31. Or “It is not of my doing.”
32. This episode is also told in a different fashion by Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 14, 356E— F. See
Griffiths, Plutarch’s De hide et Osiride 316— 1 7.
33. Cf. PDM xiv. 628.
34. Cf. PDM xiv. 440-41.
35. Or “sighing.”
36. Cf. PDM xiv. 656-58.
37. Alchah (Egyptian 'rq-bb, “Abcai”) and Oupoke (Egyptian w-pkr) are both sacred places at Aby-
dos. Alchah designates the cemetery where the mummy of Osiris was buried. Sec PGM XlVb, 12 — 15
(in the context of PDM xiv. 451-58). [R.K.R.]
38. Or “every' god {after NN).”
40
PGM IV. 154-285
125 her / to be with NN whom NN has borne. For I am To son of To; 39 1 am the G reat
son of the Great; I am Anubis, who bears the glorious crown of Re a nd puts it upon
King Osiris, King Osiris Onnophris, . . . who arouses the whole earth, that you
130 may arouse the heart of NN whom / NN has borne,, that 1 may know what is in her
heart for me, for NN whom NN has borne, on this day.”
If a large amount of saliva forms in your mouth as you speak, understand that she
135 is distressed 40 and wants to talk with you; if you yawn frequently, she wants / to
come to you. But if you sneeze two times or more, she is in good health 41 and is
returning to where she lives; if you have a headache and are crying, she is dis-
tressed 42 or even dying.
LL Rise up to heaven, and arouse the High One [masc.] after the Noble One [fern.].
140 Rise up to the abyss, and arouse Thoth after Nabin; arouse / the heart of these two
bulls, Hapi and Mnevis; arouse the heart of Osiris after Isis; arouse Re after the
light; arouse the heart of NN whom NN has born e, after NN whom NN has
borne.”
[Say] these things on behalf of women. But when [you are speaking] about
145 women, / then speak, conversely, so as to arouse the females after the males:
“When she drinks, when she eats, when she has intercourse with someone else, I
wilFbewitch her heart, I will bewitch the heart of her, I will bewit ch her breath, I
150 will bewitch / her 365 members, 43 1 will bewitch her inner part . . . wherever I de-
sire, until she comes to me and I know what is in her heart, [what] she does, and of
what she thinks, quickly, quickly; immediately, immediately.
*Tr.: M. W. Meyer.
PGM TV. 154—285
155 * Nephotes to Psammetichos, immortal king of Egypt. / Greetings. Since the great
god has appointed you immortal king and nature has made you the best wise man, 44
I too, with a desire to show you the industry in me, have sent you this magical
160 procedure which, with complete ease, / produces a holy power. And after you have
tested it, you too will be amazed at the miraculous nature of this magical operation.
You will observe through bowl divination 45 on whatever day or night you want, in
165 whatever place you want, beholding the god in die water and / hearing a voice from
the god which speaks in verses in answer to whatever you want. You will attain 46
both the ruler of the universe and whatever you command, and he will speak on
other matters which you ask about. You will succeed by inquiring in this way: First,
170 attach yourself to Helios in this manner: At whatever sunrise you want / (provided
it is the third day of the month), go up to the highest part of the house and spread a
39. Cf. above, PGM III. 679, 687 with n.
40. Or “lovesick.”
41. That is, “unafflicted” by the love charm.
42. Or “lovesick.”
43. For a close parallel, compare the lead tablet from Oxyrhynchus published by Wortmann, “Ncue
magischc Texte,” 108-9. See also the Apocrypbon of John (NHC II, 1:19: 2-14) on the construction of
the human body by 365 angels. In PGM the number 365 is commonly associated with the name Abrasax
and its numerical value (see Glossary, s.v. “Abrasax”), but also with 365 gods or even 365 knots (PGM
VII. 452-53).
44. Or “an expert magician,” as cro<pLcmq<; applies to one skilled in his craft. See LSJ, s.v.; Betz,
Lukian 10—11.
45. For bowl divination, sec R. Ganszyniec, “AsKavofiavTsiaf PRE 12 (1925) : 1879-89.
46. Prcisendanz suggests that ofo-ets is a late future form of olSa. Perhaps one should emend the text
to read difteis, “you will see.” However, die future of tpapco can be defended here (see LSJ, s.v., VI. 2-3,
where “earn' off as a prize,” “win,” “gain,” etc., are given as meanings). ( J.P.H.]
PGM IV. 154-285
41
pure linen garment on die floor. Do diis with a mystagogue. But as for you, crown
yourself with dark ivy while the sun is in mid-heaven, at the fifth hour, and while
looking upward lie down / naked on the linen and order your eyes to be completely
covered with a black band . 47 And wrap yourself like a corpse, close your eyes and,
keeping your direction toward the sun, begin these words. Prayer: 48
“O mighty Typhon, / ruler of the realm
Above and master, god of gods, O lord
ABERAMENTHOOU (formula),
0 dark’s disturber, thunder’s bringer, whirlwind,
Night-flasher, breathe r-forth of hot and cold,
Shaker of rocks, wall-trembler, boiler of
The waves, disturber of the sea’s great depth, /
IO / ERBET AUTAUI MEN I,
I’m He 49 who searched with you the whole world and
Found great Osiris, whom I brought you chained.
I’m he who joined you in war with the gods
(but odiers say, “’gainst the gods”).
I’m he who closed / heav’n’s double gates and put
To sleep the serpent which must not be seen,
Who stopped the seas, the streams, the river currents
Where’er you rule this realm. And as your soldier
1 have been conquered by the gods, I have
Been thrown face down because of empty wrath. /
Raise up your friend, I beg you, I implore;
Thrown me not on the ground, O lord of gods,
AEMINAEBAROTHERRETHORABEAN IMEA, 50
0 grant me power, I beg, and give to me
This favor, so that, whensoe’r I tell
One of the gods to come, he is seen coming /
Switfly to me in answer to my chants,
NAINE BASANAPTATOU EAPTOU MENOPHAESME PAPTOU MENOPH AES1MB TRAU-
APTI PEUCHRE TRAUARA PTOUMEPH MOURAI ANCHOUCHAPHAPTA MOURSA ARA-
MEI LAO ATHTHARAU I MENOKER BORO/PTOUMETH AT TAUI MENI CHARCHARA
PTOUMAU LALAPSA TRAUI TRAUEPSE MAMO PHORTOUCHA AEEIO IOY OEOA EAI
AEEI OI IAO AEI AI IAO.”
After you have said this three times , 51 there will be this sign of divine encounter , 52
but you, / armed by having this magical soul, be not alarmed. For a sea falcon flies
down and strikes you on the body with its wings, signifying diis: that you should
arise. But as for you, rise up and clodie yourself with white garments and burn on
an earthen censer uncut / incense in grains while saying this:
“I have been attached to your holy form.
1 have been given power by your holy name.
I have acquired your emanation of the goods,
47. See Glossary, s.v. “Isis band.”
48. The iambic trimeters (11. 179-201), many of which are metrically fault}', also form the recon-
structed Hymn 6. See Preisendanz, voi. II, pp. 242-43. [E.N.O. |
49. See on this passage Wortmann, “Neue magischc Texte,” 92-93.
50. See for this formula PGM I. 295; XIV. 24 (abbreviated); LIX. 7.
51. For the triplicate repetition in magic see O. Weinrcich, “Trisgemination als sakrale Stilform,” in
his Ausgexv&hlte Schrifun (Amsterdam: Griiner, 1973) 250—58.
52. See on this point PGM IV. 168-69.
175
180
185
190
195
200
205
210
215
42
PGM IV. 154-285
Lord, god of gods, master, daimon.
ATHTHOUIN THOUTHOUI TAUANTI LAO APTATO.”
220 Having done this, rcmrn / as lord of a godlike nature which is accomplished
through this divine encounter.
Inquiry of bowl divination and necromancy:^ Whenever you want to inquire
about matters, take a bronze vessel, either a bowl or a saucer, whatever kind you
225 wish. Pour water: / rainwater if you are calling upon heavenly gods, seawater if
gods of the earth, river water if Osiris or Sarapis, springwater if the dead. Holding
230 the vessel on your knees, pour out green olive oil, bend over the vessel and speak /
the prescribed spell. And address whatever god you want and ask about whatever
you wish, and he will reply to you and tell you about anything. And if he has
spoken dismiss him with the spell of dismissal, and you w ho have used this spell
wall be amazed.
235 The spell spoken over the vessel is: “aaioun auantau / laimoutau riptou
MANTAUI IMANTOU LANTOU LAPTOUMI ANCHOMACH ARAPTOUMI, hither tO me,
O NN god; appear to me this very hour and do not frighten my eves. Hither to me,
O NN god, be attentive to me because he wishes and commands this 54 achchor
240 ACHCHOR / ACHACHACH PTOUMI CHACHCHO CHARACHOCH CHAPTOUME CHO-
RACHARACHOCH APTOUMI MECHOCHAPTOU CHARACHPTOU CHACHCHO CHA-
racho ptenachocheu” (a hundred letters). 55
But you are not unaware, mighty king and leader of magicians, that this is tire
245 chief name of Typhon, / at whom the ground, the depths of the sea, Hades, heaven,
the sun, the moon, the visible chorus of stars, the whole universe all tremble, the
name which, when it is uttered, forcibly brings gods and daimons to it. This is the
name that consists of 100 letters. Finally, when you have called, whomever you
250 called will appear, god or dead man, 56 and he will / give an answer about anything
you ask. And when ytw have learned to your satisfaction, 57 dismiss the god merely
with die powerful name of the hundred letters as you say, “Depart, master, for the
great god, NN, wishes and commands this of you.” Speak the name, and he will
255 depart. Let this spell, / mighty king, be transmitted to you alone, guarded by you,
unshared.
There is also the protective charm itself which y r ou wear while performing, even
while standing: 55 onto a silver leaf inscribe this name of 100 letters with a bronze
260 stylus, and wear it strung on a thong from the hide / of an ass. 59
53. Following the emended punctuation by M. Smith, Clement of Alexandria and the Secret Gospel of
Mark (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973) 221.
54. The sudden shift to die third person in the words &b\si kolI etrLTaacrei seems strange at first,
and one is tempted to think that the magician begins to refer to himself in the third person. But cf. 11.
253-54 below, where the same phenomenon occurs with die subject named.
55. That is, according to Greek letters.
56. That is, the spirit or soul of a dead man. See on this primitiv e concept J. Bremmer, The Early
Greek Concept of the Soul (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983) 70-124: “The Soul of die
Dead.”
57. At this point the revelatory dialogue comes into the picture. Cf. Corp. Hcrm. 1.3, 27, 30. Cf.
P. Perkins, The Gnostic Dialogue: The Early Church and the Crisis of Gnosticism (New York: Pauiist Press,
1980), where further literature can be found.
58. The Greek is obscure at diis point. The translation follows Preisendanz: “auch wenn du stehend
agierst ”
59. The ass is the animal associated with Seth/Typhon. See Glossary, s.v.
PGM IV. 286-95
43
Divine encounter of the divine procedure.. Toward the rising sun say : 60
“I call you who did first control gods’ wrath , 61
You who hold royal scepter o’er the heavens,
You who are midpoint of the stars above,
You, master Typhon, you I call, who are
/ The dreaded sovereign o’er tire firmament. 265
You who are fearful, awesome, threatening,
You who’re obscure 62 and irresistible
And hater of the wicked, you I call,
Typhon, in hours unlawful and unmeasured,
You who’ve walked on unquenched, clear-crackling fire,
You who are / over snows, below dark ice, 270
You who hold sovereignty over the Moirai , 63
I invoked you in pray’r, I call, almight one.
That you perform for me whate’er I ask
Of you, and that you nod assent at once
To me and grant that what I ask be mine
(add the usual), because I adjure you, gar thala bauzau thorthor / kathau- 275
KATH IATHIN NA BORKAKAR BORBA KARBORBOCB MO ZAU OUZONZ ON YABITH,
mighty Typhon, hear me, NN, and perform for me the NN task. For I speak your
true names, io erbeth io pakerbeth io bolchoseth oen / typhon asba- 280
RABO BIEAISE ME NERO MARAMO TAUER CHTHENTHONIE ALAM BETOR MEN-
KECHRA saueiOr reseiodOta abresioa phother therthOnax NERDOMEU
amOres meeme oiEs syschie anthonie phra; listen / to me and perform the 285
NN deed.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM TV. 286-95
* Spell for picking a plant : 64 Use it before sunrise. The spell to be spoken : “I am
picking you, such and such a plant, with my five-fingered hand, I, NN, and I am
bringing you home so that you may work for me for a certain purpose. I adjure you
by the undcfilcd / name of the god: if you pay no heed to me, the earth which 290
produced you will no longer be watered as far as you are concerned— ever in life
60. The following dactylic hexameters also form the reconstructed Hymn 7. Sec Prcisendanz, vol. II,
pp. 243-44. Here and elsewhere as is considered long metri gratia^ contrary to classical usage.
[E.N.O.]
61 . The papyrus reads dpyikov, which the editors of Hymn 7 have obelized. Here in IV. 262 Preisen-
danz has emended and reads oirkop, while others have suggested such words as oppav (Wiinsch),
KO(jp.ov (Dieterich), etc. The translation here has retained the reading of the papyrus. For Siemo and its
meaning here, see Bauer, s.v. [E.N.O. |
62. The papyrus has SffXov, which Prcisendanz retains both here and in Hymn 7 where he obelizes
it. Kroll’s emendation adrjkov is paleographically sound, for “A” could have been omitted before “A.”
Second, cfSrjXon is a good parallel to api7jxavoi\ and third, the idea of adrjkov fits Seth/Typhon, who is
regularly associated with darkness, shadow's, etc. Cf., c.g., Plutarch, De Is. etOs. 2, 35 IF; 44, 368F, and
Griffiths, Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride 468. [E.N.O.]
63. Preisendanz reads at this point et t' evicrctuav Moipav, “over the Moirai invoked in prayer.” In
the reconstructed Hymn 7 (Prcisendanz, vol. II, p. 244), Heitsch reads sTTEVKtaicov Motpwr, “of the
longed-for Moirai,” originally a proposal by Dieterich (sec the apparatus to PGM IV. 271).
64. For this type of ritual, see F. Pfistcr, “Pflanzenaberglaubc,” PRE 19 (1938) : 1446-56.
44
PGM TV. 296-466
again, if I fail in this operation, mouthabar nach barnachocha braeo men da
295 laubraasse PHASPHA bendeo; fulfil 65 for me / the perfect charm.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM IV. 296—466
* Wondrous spell for binding a lover: Take wax [or clay] from a potter’s wheel
and make two figures, a male and a female. Make the male in the form of Ares fully
300 armed, holding a sword / in his left hand and threatening to plunge it into the right
side of her neck. And make her 66 with her arms behind her back and down on her
knees. And you are to fasten the magical material on her head or neck. Write on the
305 figure of the woman being attracted as follows: On the head: / “isee lao ithi
oune brjdo lothion neboutosoualeth”; on the right ear: “ouer m£Chan”;
on the left ear: “libaba oimathotho”; on the face: “amounabreo”; on the right
310 eye: / “orormothio AETH”; on the other: “choboue”; on the right shoulder:
“ad eta merou”; on the right arm: “ene psa enesgaph”; on the other: “mel-
315 chiou melchiedia”: on the hands: / “melchamelchou ael”; on the breast:
the name, on her mother’s side, of the woman being attracted; on the heart: “bal-
amin thoouth”; and below the lower belly: “aobes aObar”; on tire pudenda:
320 “blichianeoi ouOia”; on the buttocks: “pissadara”; on / the sole of the right
foot: “elo”; on the sole of the other one: “eloaiaoe.”
And take thirteen copper needles and stick 1 in the brain while saying, “I am
piercing your brain, NN”; and stick 2 in the ears and 2 in the eyes and 1 in the
325 mouth and 2 / in the midriff and 1 in the hands and 2 in the pudenda and 2 in the
soles, saying each time, “I am piercing such and such a member of her, NN, so that
she may remember no one but me, NN, alone.”
330 And take a lead tablet 67 and write the same / spell and recite it. And tie the lead
leaf to the figures with thread from the loom after making 365 knots while saying
as you have learned, “abrasax, hold her fast!” You place it, as the sun is setting,
beside the grave of one who has died untimely or violendy, placing beside it also the
seasonal flowers.
335 The spell to be written / and recited is: “I entrust this binding spell to you,
chthonic gods, hyesemigadOn and kore persephone ereschigal and adonis
the barbaritha, infernal hermes thoouth phOkentazepseu aerchtha-
340 THOUMI / SONKTAI KALBANACHAMBRE and tO mighty ANUBIS PSIRINTH, who
holds the keys to Hades, to infernal gods and daimons, to men and women who
have died untimely deaths, to youths and maidens, from year to year, month to
345 month, day to day, / hour to hour. I adjure all daimons in this place to stand as
assistants beside this daimon. And arouse yourself for me, 68 whoever you are,
whether male or female, 69 and go to every place and into every quarter and to every
350 house, and attract / and bind her. Attract her, NN, whom NN bore and whose
65. The sudden shift to the plural reXscrare is strange. Preisendanz suggests that Sat/zores is the
subject, but no daimons appear in the spell. Can the subject be the voces magicae themselves? [E.N.O.]
66. A figurine similar to the one described here, together with a lead tablet containing an inscription
nearly identical to that of 11. 335—406, has been found in Egypt. See S. Kambitsis, “Une nouvelle tab-
lette magique d’Egyptc, Musee du Louvre, Inv. E 27145, 3 C /4 C siecle,” RIFAO 76 (1976) : 213 -23 and
plates.
67. For a parallel to this passage, see Wortmann, “Neue magische Texte,” 56—58 (no. 1, 11. 6—16).
68. See on this point Wortmann, “Neue magische Tcxte,” 70— 71.
69. Egyptian lists of demons and demon-induced diseases carefully distinguish between male and
female. For a characteristic example, see S. Sauneron, Le Papyrus magique illustre de Brooklyn (Brooklyn:
The Brooklyn Museum, 1970) 6-11. [R.K.R.]
IAEO BAP H RE N EM O UN OTH I LARI IC1UPH IAEYEAIPH I RKI
PGM IV. 296-466
45
magical material you possess. Let her be in love with me, NN whom she, NN bore.
Let her not be had in a promiscuous way, 70 let her not be had in her ass, nor let her
do anything with another man for pleasure, just with me alone, NN, so that she,
NN, be unable either to drink or eat, that she not / be contented, not be strong,
not have peace of mind, that she, NN, not find sleep without me, NN, because I
adjure you by the name that causes fear and trembling, the name at whose sound
the earth opens, the name at whose terrifying sound the daimons are terrified, / the
name at whose sound rivers and rocks burst assunder. I adjure you, god of the dead,
whether male or female, by barbaritha chenmbra barouchambra and by the
ABRAT ABRASAX SESENGEN BARPHARANGGES and by die glorious AOIA / MARI and
by the marmareoth marmarauoth marmaraoth marechthana amarza
maribeoth; do not fail, god of die dead, to heed my commands and names, but
just arouse yourself from the repose which holds you, / whoever you are, whether
male or female, and go to every place, into every quarter, into every house, and
attract her, NN, to me and with a spell keep her from eating and drinking, and do
not allow her, NN, to accept for pleasure the attempt of another man, / not even
that of her own husband, just that of mine, NN. Instead, drag her, NN, by the hair,
by her heart, by her soul, to me, NN, at every' hour of life, day and night, until she
comes to me, NN, and may she, NN, remain / inseparable from me. Do this, bind
her for all the time of my life and help force her, NN to be serviceable to me,
NN, and let her not frolic away from me for even one hour of life. If you accom-
plish diis for me, I will quickly allow you your repose. / For I am barbar abonai
who hides the stars, who controls the brighdy shining heaven, the lord of the
world, aththouin iathouin selbiouoth aoth sarbathiouth iaththierath
adonai ia roura bia bi biothe athoth / sabaoth ea niapha amarachthi
satama zauaththeie serpho ialada iale sbesi iaththa maradtha achilth-
THEE CHOOO OE EACHO KANSAOSA ALKMOURI THYR THAOOS S1ECHE. I am
thoth OSOMAI; / attract her, bind her, NN, filled with love, desire and yearning
for NN (add the usual), because I adjure you, god of the dead, by the fearful, great
IAEO BAPH RENEMOUN OTHI LARIKRIPHIA EYEAI PHIRKIRALITHON YOMEN ER
phaboeai, / so that you attract her, NN, to me and join head to head and fasten lip
to lip and join belly to belly and draw thigh close to thigh and fit black together
with black, and let her, NN, carry out her own sex acts / with me, NN, for all eter-
nity.
Then write on the other side of die tablet the heart and the characters as they are
below:
“iaeobaphrenemounothilarikriphiaeyeaiphirkiralithonyomenerphaboeai
aeobaphrenemounothilarikriphiaeyeaiphirkiralithonyomenerphaboea
ao eobaphrenemounothilarikriphiaeyeaiphirkiralithonyomenerphaboe m
EA obaphrenemounothilarikriphlaeyeaiphirkiralithonyomenerphabo oeS
to oiei
baphrenemounothilarikriphiaeyeaiphirkiralithonyomemerphab
YO OEYI
aphrenemounothilarikriphiaeyeaiphirkiralithonyomenerpha
IO OfcYY
QE PHRENEMOUNOTHILARIKRIPHIAEYEAIPHIRKIRALITHONYOMENERPH J^YY
ioae yyaa
EOEI OIII
yaou yaee
IAOI EOAY
AEAE OOYI
70. See on this point Wortmann, “Neue magischc Text,” 72.
355
360
365
370
375
380
385
390
395
400
405
410
415
420
46
PGM IV. 296-466
425
430
435
440
445
450
455
460
EIOI
EEEA
OIYA
AAIA
a<3oe
IIIO
YIOE
EEAO
EOAOA
EEAO
YAYA
EIEE
IOEIIE
OAEI
IAOI
EIYI
AOAO
EEOI
YYOI
YAAI
EIIA
AAOCy
Prayer that belongs to the procedure: At sunset, while holding / the magical ma-
terial from die tomb, say:
“Borne 71 on the breez.es of the wandr’ing winds,
Golden-haired Helios, who wield the flame’s
Unresting fire, who turn in lofty paths
Around the great pole, who create all things
Yourself which you again reduce to nothing, /
From whom, indeed, all dements have been
Arranged to suit your laws which nourish all
The world with its four yearly turning points.
Hear, blessed one, for I call you who rule
Heaven and earth, Chaos and Hades, where
Men’s daimons dwell who once gazed on the light, /
And even now I beg you, blessed one.
Unfailing one, the master of the world,
If you go to the depths of earth and search
The regions of the dead, send this daimon,
From whose body I hold this remnant in my hands.
To her, NN, at midnight hours,
To move by night to orders ’neatli your force, /
That all I want within my heart he may
Perform for me; and send him gentle, gracious
And pondering no hostile thoughts toward me,
And be not angry at my potent chants.
For you yourself arranged these things among
Mankind for them to learn about the threads
Of the Moirai, and this with your advice. /
I call your name, Horus , 72 which is in number
Equivalent to those of the Moirai,
ACHAIPHO THOTHO PHIACHA AIE EIA LAE EIA THOTHO PHIACHA.
Be kind to me, forefather, scion of
The world, self-gendered, fire-bringer, aglow
Like gold, shining on mortals, master of
The world, / daimon of restless fire, unfailing,
With gold disk, sending earth pure light in beams.
71. The following dactylic hexameters are part of the reconstructed Hymn 4 (Preiscndanz, vol. II,
pp. 239-40): v. 1-17, 20, 22-28. For other versions and sections of Hymn 4, see PGM I. 315-27; IV.
1957-89; VIII. 74-80. [E.N.O.]
72. For Horus equated with Helios, cf. PGM IV. 989.
PGM IV. 474
47
Send the daimon, whomever I have requested, to her, NN” (add the usual).
In another version, the name is: “achai phothotho aie ela lae eio tho tho
ph i ac ha.” / In another it is: “achai phothotho aie iea eai lae aei ela otho- 465
THO PHIACHA.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM IV. 467—68
* Charm to restrain anger: “Will you dare to raise your mightv spear against
Zeus ?” 73
*Tr.: R. F. Hock. The same spell occurs at PGM IV. 831-32.
PGM TV. 469-70
*To get friends:
/ “Let . . . seize, lest we become a joy to our enemies.” 74 470
*Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr. The same charm using a verse from Homer ( Iliad 10. 193) occurs
in PGM IV. 833—34. Since there the single verse alone serves as a charm to get friends, and
since the papyrus manuscript separates all verses with paragraph marks, it seems likely that
the following four verses served as separate charms, though the original titles have been lost.
Furthermore, since the three verses (Iliad 10.564, 10.521, and 10.572) that follow form a
natural grouping in PGM IV. 2145ff. (cf. IV. 821-23), we have preserved that grouping in
PGM IV. 471— 73, below, though it is not clear whether the copyist inserted these verses here
by mistake or whether the reader was to understand from PGM IV. 2145ff. that the spell
served as a “divine assistance from three Homeric verses.”
PGM IV. 471— 73
*
“After saying this, he drove the solid-hoofed horses through the ditch .” 75
“and men gasping out their lives amid the terrible slaughter .” 76
“and they washed off in die sea the sweat that covered them .” 77
*Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr. This untitled charm contains three verses of Homer that also occur
in PGM IV. 821—23 and IV. 2145ff. It is presumed that these verses served the same func-
tions as those listed in 11. 2145ff. See the introductory note on the previous spell. The verses
all come from the tenth book of the Iliad and presumably could be read together.
PGM TV. 474
*“. . . Ares endured, when Otos and mighty Ephialtcs . . . him .” 78
*Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr. Cf. the introductory note on PGM IV. 469— 70, and sec PGM IV.
830, with n.
73. Homer, II. 8. 424. For the use of single Homeric verses as charms and amulets, see R. Heim,
“Incantamenta magica graeca latina,” Jahrbiicher filr classische Philologie , Supplemmtband 9 (1893), sec-
tion X: Venus Homerici et Vergilicmi (pp. 514-20).
74. Homer, II. 10. 193.
75. Homer, II. 10. 564. The referent of “he” is Odysseus in the original context.
76. Homer, II. 10. 521. Again, the papyrus quotes only a portion of the Homeric text. “Men” is the
object of “saw” in 1. 520, and it is a kinsman of the slaughtered Rhesus who saw.
77. Homer, II. 10. 572. In Homer, die referent of “they” is Odysseus and Diomedcs.
78. Homer, II. 5. 385. The papyrus quotes only a single verse and leaves the syntax of “him” unac-
counted for. In Homer, “him” is governed by “bound” in I. 386.
48
PGM IV. 475-829
PGM IV. 475—829
475 * Be gracious to me, O Providence and Psyche, 79 as I write these mysteries handed
down [not] for gain but for instruction; and for an only child I request immor-
tality, O initiates of this our power (furthermore, it is necessary for you, O daugh-
480 ter, to take / the juices of herbs and spices, which will [be made known] to you at
the end of my holy treatise), which the great god Helios Mithras ordered to be
revealed to me by his archangel, so that I alone mav ascend into heaven as an in-
485 quirer / and behold the universe.
This is the invocation of the spell :
“First origin of my origin, aeeioyO, first beginning of my beginning, ppp sss 80
490 phr[e], spirit of spirit, 81 the first of the spirit / in me, mmm, fire given by god to
my mixture of the mixtures in me, the first of the fire in me, ey ela ee, water of
water, the first of the water in me, 666 aaa eee, earthy material, the first of die
495 earthy material in me, / ye yoe, my complete body, I, NN whose mother is NN,
which was formed by a noble arm and an incorruptible right hand in a world with-
out light and yet radiant, without soul and yet alive with soul, yei ayi eyOie: now
500 if it be your will, meterta / photh (methartha pherie, in another place) 82
ierezath, give me over to immortal birth and, following that, to my underlying
nature, so that, after the present need which is pressing me exceedingly, I may gaze
505 upon the immortal / beginning with the immortal spirit, anchrephrenesou-
phirigch, with the immortal water, eronoui parakouneth, with the most
steadfast air, eioae psenabOth; that I may be bom again in thought, kraochrax
510 R oim enarchomai, / and the sacred spirit may breathe in me, nechthen ap-
otou nechthin arpi eth; so that I may wonder at the sacred fire, kyphe; that I
may gaze upon the unfathomable, awesome water of the dawn, nyo theso echo
515 ouchiechoa, and the vivifying / and encircling aether may hear me, arno-
methph; for today I am about to behold, with immortal eyes — I, born mortal
from mortal womb, but transformed by tremendous power and an incorruptible
520 right hand / and with immortal spirit, the immortal Aion and master of the fiery
diadems — I, sanctified through holy consecrations — while there subsists within
525 me, holy, for a short time, my human soul-might, which I will again / receive after
the present bitter and relentless necessity which is pressing down upon me — I, NN,
whose modier is NN, according to the immutable decree of god, eye yla eei ao
530 eiay IYA ieo. Since it is impossible for me, born / mortal, to rise with the golden
brightnesses of the immortal brilliance, oey aeo eya eoe yae oiae, stand, O per-
ishable nature of mortals, and at once [receive] me safe and sound after the inexor-
535 able and pressing / need. For I am the son psychon demou procho proa, I am
macharph[.]n mou propsychon proe.”
Draw in breath from the rays, drawing up 3 times as much as you can, and you
540 will see yourself being lifted up and / ascending to the height, so that you seem to
be in midair. You will hear nothing either of man or of any other living thing, nor in
that hour will you see anything of mortal affairs on earth, but rather you will see all
79. The goddess Psyche, “Sou! ” Some scholars read Tvche, “Fortune.” On the problem see Die-
terich, Mithrasliturgie 2, 49-52, 70-72, 230-32. On the “Mithras Liturgy,” see M. W. Meyer, The
Mithras Liturgf (Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1976).
80. For the meaning of popping and hissing noises in magic, see Dieterich, Mithrasliturgie 40—43,
228-29; R. Lasch, “Das Pfeifcn und Schnalzcn und seine Bcziehung zu Damonenglauben und Zaube-
rei,” ARW 18 (1915) : 589-93. See also 11. 561-62, and 578- 79 below, and elsewhere in the PGM.
81. “Spirit,” “breath,” “wind” (tTvev/ia} is one of the four elements.
82. This is evidence that the scribe had at least one other copy of rite spell. See Dieterich, Mithras-
Uturgie 4, 221.
PGM IV. 475-829
49
immortal things. For in that day / and hour you will see the divine order of the 545
skies: the presiding gods rising into heaven, and others setting. Now the course of
the visible gods will appear through the disk of god, my father; and in similar fash-
ion the so-called pipe, / the origin of the ministering wind. For you will see it hang- 550
ing from the sun’s disk like a pipe. You will see the outflow of this object toward the
regions westward, boundless as an east wind, if it be assigned to the regions of the
east — and the other (viz., the west wind), similarly, toward its own / regions. And 555
you will see the gods staring intently at you and rushing at you.
So at once put your right finger on your mouth 88 and say:
“Silence! Silence! Silence!
Symbol of the living, incorruptible god! /
Guard me, Silence, nechtheir thanmelou!” 560
Then make a long hissing sound, next make a popping sound, and say:
“PROPROPHEGGE MORIOS PROPHYR PROPHEGGE NEMETHIRE ARPSENTEN PI-
TETMI MEOY ENARTH PHYRKECHO PSYRIDARIO / TYRE PHILBA.” 565
Then you will see the gods looking graciously upon you and no longer rushing at
you, but rather going about in their own order of affairs.
So when you sec that the world above is clear / and circling, and that none of the 570
gods or angels is threatening you, expect to hear a great crash of thunder, so as to
shock you. Then say again:
“Silence! Silence! (the prayer) I am a star, wandering about with you, and shin-
ing forth out of / the deep, oxy o xbrtheuth.” 575
Immediately after you have said these things the sun’s disk will be expanded. And
after you have said the second prayer, where there is “Silence! Silence!” and the
accompanying words, make a hissing sound twice and a popping sound twice, and
immediately you will see / many five-pronged stars coming forth from the disk and 580
filling all tile air. Then say again: “Silence! Silence!” And when the disk is open, you
will see the fireless circle, and the fiery doors shut tight. /
At once close your eyes and recite the following prayer. The third prayer : 585
“Give ear to me, hearken to me, NN, whose mother is NN, O lord, you who
have bound together with your breath the fiery bars of the fourfold / root, 84 590
O Fire-walker, pentiterouni.
Light-maker (others: Encloser), semesilam.
Fire-breather, psyrinpheu,
Fire-feeler, iao,
Light-breather, oai.
Fire-delighter, eloure.
Beautiful light, azai,
Aion, ACHBA,
/ Light-master, pepper prepempipi, 85 595
Fire-body, phnoi/bnioch.
Light-giver, . . .
83. For examples of this common depiction on stones, see the engraved gem showing Harpokrates
with his finger to his mouth, in F. M. and J. H. Schwartz, “Engraved Gems in the Collection of the
American Numismatic Society, I: Ancient Magical Amulets,” The American Numismatic Society, Museum
Notes 24 (1979) no. 3, p. 159. See also the bronze statue in G. S. Gasparro, I culti orkntali in Sicilia ,
EPRO 3 1 (Leiden: Brill, 1973), plate XLV, fig. 66.
84. Reading TSTpapt&fiaTos with Hopfner (see apparatus ad Joe.) rather than TETpaXi&jp.aros.
The reading of the manuscript, on the other hand, suggests bcapoparo^ ( cf. C. H., Frag. 26.8). { W.B.]
85. For pipi as a permutation of the tetragrammaton, the Hebrew divine name, see S. Lieberman,
Greek in Jewish Palestine (New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary' of America, 1942) 120 n. 38;
50
PGM IV. 475-829
Fire-sower, arei eikita.
Fire-driver, gallabalba,
Light-forcer, aio,
Fire-whirler, pyrichibooseia.
Light-mover, sancherob,
600 Thunder-shaker /, ie oe ioeio,
Glory-light, beegenete,
Light-increaser, SOUSINEPHIEN,
Fire-light-maintainer, SOUSINEPHI arenbarazei marmarenteu.
Star-tamer . . .
Open for me, proprophegge emetheire moriomotyrjephilba,
605 because, / on account of the pressing and bitter and inexorable necessity, I invoke
the immortal names, living and honored, which never pass into mortal nature and
610 are not declared in articulate speech by human tongue or mortal speech / or mortal
sound: eeo oeeo ioo oe eeo eeo oe eo ioo ofifiE oee Ooe ie eO oO oe ieO oe
OOE IEO OE IEEO EE IO OE IOE OEO EOE OEO OlE OlE EO OI III EOE OYE EOOEE
615 EO EIA AEA EEA / EEEE EEE EEE IEO EEO OEEEOE EEO EYO OE ElO EO OE OE EE
OOO VIDE.”
Say all these things with fire and spirit, until completing the first utterance; then,
620 similarly, begin the second, until you complete the / 7 immortal gods of the world. 86
When you have said these things, you will hear thundering and shaking in die sur-
rounding realm; and you will likewise feel yourself being agitated. Then say again:
625 “Silence!” (the prayer). Then open your eyes, and you will see the doors / open and
the world of the gods which is within the doors, so that from the pleasure and joy
of the sight your spirit runs ahead and ascends.
So stand still and at once draw breath from the divine into yourself, while you
630 look intently. Then when / your soul is restored, say:
“Come, lord, archandara phOtaza pyriphota zabythlx etimenmero
PHORATHEN ERIE PROTHRI PHORATHI.”
When you have said this, the rays will turn toward you; look at the center of
635 them. For when / you have done this, you will see a youthful god, beautiful in ap-
pearance, with fiery hair, and in a white tunic and a scarlet cloak, and wearing a
fiery crown. 87 At once greet him with the fire greeting:
640 “Hail, O lord, Great Power, Great Might, / King, Greatest of gods, Helios, the
Lord of heaven and earth, God of gods: mighty is your breath; mighty is your
strength, O lord. If it be your will, announce me to the supreme god, the one who
645 has begotten and made you: that a man — I, NN, 8a whose mother is NN, / who was
born from the mortal womb of NN and from the fluid of semen, and who, since he
M. Philoncnko, “L’Anguipede alectorocephale er le dieu lAO 5 ’ Academic dcs inscriptions et belles lettres,
comptcs rendus des seances de I'annee 1979 297—304, where further material is collected and discussed. In
PGM see also III. 575; IV. 1984; XVIIa. 1-2; cf. also III. 335.
86. For the following section of the ritual, cf. the combination of the seven grades of the initiation,
the planetary gods, and the ascension in the mysteries of Mithras. See esp. R. Beck, “Interpreting the
Ponza-Zodiac: II,” Journal of Mithraic Studies 2 (1978) : 120—35; R. Merkelbach, Weihegrade und Seelen-
lehre der Mithrasmysterien (Opladen: Wcstdeutscher Verlag, 1982) 13-21; also J. Bergman, “Per omnia
vectus elementa remeavi. Reflexions sur Parriere-plan egyptien du voyage de salut d’un mvstc isiaque,” in
U. Bianchi and M. J. Vermascrcn, eds.. La soteriologia dei culti oriental i nelP impero romano, EPRO 92
(Leiden: Brill, 1982): 671 -708.
87. Cf. the well-preserved fresco from the Mithras temple in Capua. For a color photo, sec Mer-
kelbach, Weihegrade 34.
88. For the interpretation of this self- presentation, see Betz, ‘The Delphic Maxim,” 170.
PGM IV. 475- 829
51
has been born again from you today, has become immortal out of so many myriads
in this hour according to the wish of god the exceedingly good — resolves to wor-
ship / you, and prays with all his human power, that you may take along with you 650
the horoscope of the day and hour today, which has the name thrapsiari mor-
irok, that he may appear and give revelation during the good hours, eoro rore
ORRI ORIOR ROR ROI / OR REORORI EOR EOR BORE!” 655
After you have said these things, he will come to the celestial pole, and vou will
see him walking as if on a road. Look intently, and make a long bellowing sound,
like a horn, releasing all your breath and straining your sides; and kiss / the phvlac- 660
teries and say, first toward the right: “Protect me, prosymeri!”
After saying this, you will see the doors 89 thrown open, and seven virgins 90 com-
ing from deep within, dressed in linen garments, and with the faces of asps. 91 They
arc called the Fates / of heaven, and wield golden wands. When you see them, greet 665
them in this manner:
“Hail, O seven Fates of heaven, O noble and good virgins, O sacred ones and com-
panions of minimirrophor, O most holy guardians of the four pillars! 92 / Hail to 670
you, the first, chrepsenthaes! Hail to you, the second, meneschees! Hail to
you, the third, mechran! Hail to you, the fourth, ararmaches ! 93 Hail to you,
die fifth, echommiB/ Ha il to you, the sixth, tichnondaes! Hail to you, the sev-
enth, erou rombries!”
There also come forth another seven gods, 94 who have the faces of black bulls, in
linen / loincloths, and in possession of seven golden diadems. They are the so- 675
called Pole Lords of heaven, whom you must greet in the same manner, each of
them with his own name:
“Hail, O guardians of the pivot, O sacred and brave youths, who turn / at one 680
command die revolving axis of the vault of heaven, who send out thunder and light-
ning and jolts of earthquakes and diunderbolts against the nations of impious
people, but to me, who am pious and god-fearing, you send health and soundness
of body / and acuteness of hearing and seeing, and calmness in the present good 685
hours of this day, O my lords and powerfully ruling gods! Hail to you, the first,
aieronthi! Hail to you, the second, mercheimeros! Hail to you, the third,
achrichiour! / Hail to you, the fourth, mesargilto! Hail to you, the fifth, 690
chichroalitho! Hail to you, the sixth, ermichthathops! Hail to you, the sev-
enth, eorasiche!”
Now when they take their place, here and there, in order, look in die air and you
will see lightning bolts going down, and lights flashing /, and the earth shaking, 695
89. Cf. the seven gates of the mosaic of the Mitreo delle sette sfere at Ostia and the inscribed term
emaTrv'Kos^ “seven-gated.” Sec M. J. Vermascren, Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis
Mitbriacae , voi. I (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1966) 137, fig. 82; Merkclbach, Weihegrade 65.
90. For the seven virgins, sec the discussion by Dicterich, Mitbraslituygie 69—72, who also refers to
the seven Hathors of Egyptian religion.
91. This seems to be an Egyptian idea, where three serpents stand for the word “goddess.” One
Egyptian Fate, Rnnwtet (Thcrmuris), is known to have a serpent face. Sec Erman and Grapow, Wbrter-
bu 'ch II, 362. [R.K.R.]
92. For this Egyptian cosmology, sec H. Frankfort et at. The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946) 45-47; D. Kurth, Den Himmel stutzen. Die “Tn>2 pt”-
Szcncn in den iigyptischen Tcmpeln der griechisch-romischen Epochc (Bruxelles: Fondation Egvp-
tologique Rcinc Elisabeth, 1975) 90, 98. JR.K.R.]
93. Cf. the Egyptian harmachis , “Horus who is on the horizon.”
94. For a discussion of the seven young men, sec Dieterich, Mithrasliturgk 70— 75. In the Mithras
mysteries the seven grades of initiates were each under the tutelage of a planetary deity. See Merkclbach,
Weihegrade 13-14.
52
PGM IV. 475-829
and a god descending, a god immensely great, having a bright appearance, youth-
ful, golden-haired, with a white tunic and a golden crown and trousers , 95 and hold-
700 ing in his right hand a golden / shoulder of a young bull: this is the Bear which
moves and turns heaven around, moving upward and downward in accordance with
the hour . 96 Then you will see lightning bolts leaping from his eyes and stars from
his body.
705 And at once / make a long bellowing sound, straining your belly, that you may
excite the five senses; bellow long until out of breath, and again kiss the phylac-
teries, and say:
710 “mokrimo PHERIMO phereri, life of me, NN: stay! Dwell in / my soul ! 97 Do
not abandon me, for entho phenen thropioth commands you.”
And gaze upon the god while bellowing long; and greet him in this manner:
“Hail, O Lord, O Master of the water! Hail, O Founder of the earth! Hail, O
715 Ruler of the wind! O Bright Lightener /, proprophegge emethiri artentepi
theth mimeo yenaro phyrchecho pseri dario phre phrelba! Give revela-
tion, O lord, concerning the NN matter. O lord, while being born again, I am pass-
720 ing away; while growing and having grown, / I am dying; while being bom from a
life-generating birth, I am passing on, released to death— as you have founded, as
you have decreed, and have established the mystery. I am pheroura miouri.”
After you have said these things, he will immediately respond with a revelation. /
725 Now you will grow weak in soul and will not be in yourself, when he answers you.
He speaks the oracle to you in verse, and after speaking he will depart. But you
remain silent, since you will be able to comprehend all these matters by yourself; for
730 at a later time / you will remember infallibly the things spoken by the great god,
even if the oracle contained myriads of verses.
If you also wish to use a fellow initiate, so that he alone may hear with you the
735 things spoken, let him remain pure with you for [seven] / days, and abstain from
meat and the bath. And even if you are alone, and you undertake the things com-
municated by the god, you speak as if prophesying in ecstasy. And if you also wish
740 to show him, then judge whether he is completely worthy as a man /: treat him just
as if in his place you were being judged in the matter of immortalization, and whis-
per to him the first prayer, of which the beginning is “First origin of my origin , 98
745 aeeioyo.” And say the successive things as an initiate, over his / head, in a soft
voice , 99 so that he may not hear, as you are anointing his face with the mystery. This
immortalization takes place three times a year. And if anyone, O child, after the
750 teaching, wishes to disobey, then for him it will no longer / be in effect.
95. The description of the god Mithras agrees with extant pictures. See esp. the frescoes from Dura
Europos, published in M. J. Vermaseren, Corpus inscriptionum et monumentarum religionis Mithriacae
(Den Haag: Nijhoff, 1956, 1960); see also die discussion in Dieterich, Mithrasliturgie 76- 78.
96. For the interpretation of this passage, see Dieterich, Mithrasliturgie 76-78, 234; R. Beck, “In-
terpreting die Ponza Zodiac,” journal ofM ithraic Studies 1 (1976) : 1—19, esp. 2; 2 (1978) : 87— 147, esp.
120—27; R. L. Gordon and J. R. Hinnels, “Some New Photographs of Well-known Mithraic Monu-
ments,” ibid. 2 (1978): 213- 19. Cf. also Griffith and Thompson, The Leyden Papyrus , col. V. 1 with
note; te Velde, Seth, God of Confusion 86— 89.
97. The combination of £anj “life,” and t fwxr} “soul,” suggests erotic overtones (see Juvenal, Sat. 6.
195 for liorj Kai tfwxy, and the note on PGM IV. 377). [E.N.O.] In fact, sculptures portraying Eros and
Psyche were found in the Mithras sanctuaries at Capua and under the Church of S. Prisca in Rome. Sec
Merkelbach, Weihegmde 22—24, and photos on pp. 68—69.
98. For this prayer, see PGM IV. 486-537.
99. Cf. on this point Firmicus Maternus, De err. prof. rel. 22. 1: lento murmure susurr at, “he whis-
pers with a soft murmur”; Apuleius, Met. 1.3. See also G. Scholem Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism,
and Talmudic Tradition (New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary' of -America, 2 1965) 58.
PGM IV. 475-829
53
Instruction for the rite : Take a sun scarab which has twelve rays, and make it fall
into a deep, turquoise cup, at the time when the moon is invisible; 100 put in to-
gether with it the seed of the fruit pulp of the lotus, / and honey; and, after grind- 755
ing it, prepare a cake. And at once you will see it [viz., the scarab] moving forward
and eating; and when it has consumed it, it immediately dies. Pick it up and throw
it into a glass vessel of excellent rose oil, as much as you wish; and / spreading sa- 760
cred sand in a pure manner, set the vessel on it, and say the formula over the vessel
for seven days, while the sun is in midheaven:
“I have consecrated you, that your material may be useful to me, to NN alone, ie
ia See o y eia, that you may prove useful to me / alone, for 1 am phor phora 765
pros photizaas” (others: “phor phor ophothei xaas”).
On the 7th day pick up the scarab, and bury it with myrrh and Mendesian
wine 101 and fine linen; and put it away in a flourishing bean field. / Then, after you 770
have entertained and feasted together, put away, in a pure manner, the ointment for
the immortalization.
If you want to show this to someone else, take the juice of the herb called ken-
tritis, and smear, it, along with rose oil, over the eyes of the one you wish; / and he 775
will see so clearly that he will amaze you. I have not found a greater spell than this in
the world. Ask the god for what you want, and he will give to you.
Now the encounter with the great god is like this: Having obtained the above-
mentioned herb / kentritis , at the conjunction [of the sun and the moon] occurring 780
in the Lion, 102 take the juice and, after mixing it with honey and myrrh, write on a
leaf of the persea tree the eight-lettered name, as given below. 103 And having kept
yourself pure for 3 days in advance, come at morning to face the sunrise; / lick off 785
the leaf while you show it to the sun, and then he [the sun god] will listen to you
attentively. Begin to prepare [the scarab] on the new moon in the lion, according to
the god’s [reckoning]. 104
Now this is the name : “i ee oo iai.” Lick this up, so that you may be protected;
and rolling up the leaf /, throw it into the rose oil. Many times have I used the spell, 790
and have wondered greatly.
But the god said to me:
“Use the ointment no longer, but, after casting it into the river, [you must] con-
sult while wearing die great mystery / of the scarab revitalized through the 25 liv- 795
ing birds, 103 and consult once a month, at full moon, instead of 3 times a year.”
The kentritis plant grows from die month of Payni, in the regions of the / black 800
earth, and is similar to the erect verbena. This is how' to recognize it: an ibis wing is
dipped at its black tip and smeared with the juice, and the feathers fall off when
touched. After die lord / pointed this out, it was found in Menelaitis in Phalagry, at 805
the river banks, near the besas plant. It is of a single stem, and reddish down to the
root; and the leaves are rather crinkled and have fruit / like the tip of wild as- 810
paragus. It is similar to the so-called tedapes , like the wild beet.
100. Literally, “at the seizure of the moon,” probably designating the new moon.
101. Cf. PGM I. 85-86 and n.
102. That is, at the new moon.
103. See PGM IV. 788.
104. The new moon of god, according to the heavens, in contrast to the new moon of man, accord-
ing to die calendar.
105. The allusion to the twenty-five birds is obscure; it may be related to the hours, so that the scarab
Khepri is reborn in the first hour of a new day, after the passage of twelve hours of day and twelve hours
of night during the previous day.
54
PGM IV. 830
Now the phylacteries require this procedure: copy that for the right [arm] onto
815 the skin / of a black sheep, with myrrh ink, and after tying it with sinews of
the same animal, put it on; and copy that [for] the left [arm] onto the skin of a
white sheep, and use the same procedure. The left one is very full of “prosthy-
820 meri” /, and has this memorandum: 106
“So speaking, he drove through the trench the single-hoofed horses.” 107
“And men gasping among grievous slaughters.” 108
“And the}' washed off their profuse sweat in the sea.” 109
“You will dare to lift up your mighty spear against Zeus.” 110
825 / Zeus went up the mountain with a golden bullock and a silver dagger. Upon all he
bestowed a share, only to Amara did he not give, but he said: 111
“Let go of what you have, and then you will receive, psinother nopsither
thernopsi” (add the usual). 112
*Tr.: M. W. Mcver.
PGM IV. 830
830 *. . . “Ares endured, when Otos and mighty Ephialtes . . . him.” 113
Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr.
PGM IV. 831—32
* Charm to restrain anger: “Will you dare to raise your mighty spear against
Zeus?” 114
Tr.: R. F. Hock.
PGM TV. 833—34
*To Get Friends: “Let . . . seize, lest we become a joy to our enemies.” 115
Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr.
PGM IV. 835—49
835 * From 53 years and 9 months on Hermes took the period up to 10 years and 9
months, from which he assigned to himself 20 months, which would be 55 years 5
840 months; then to Aphrodite 8 months, / which would thus be 56 years 1 month;
106. The relationship of the poetic quotations in the following, which repeat those in 11. 468- 74,
and the Mithras liturgy is obscure. They seem unrelated; see Wcsseiy, Griechiscbe Zauberpapyrns (see
above. Introduction, n. 24), which shows a blank after 1. 820 and a sign indicating a new paragraph. For
a different view, cf. Dieterich, Mitbraslitnrgie 84. [M.S.]
107. Homer, II. 10. 564.
108. Homer, II. 10. 521.
109. Homer, II. 10. 572.
110. Homer, II. 8. 424. See PGM TV. 46/— 68 above and 830—31 below. Probably this verse served
as a spell to restrain anger, but it may be misplaced here.
111. That these verses are part of the vTro/jurqfjLa (“the memorandum,” 1. 821) seems unlikely. More
probably, a heading has been lost, and die verses contain an altogether independent spell. Story spells
( bistoriolae ) were ancient (see Faulkner, Coffin Texts , nos. 7, 75, 148, 154, 157, 158, etc.). They usually
tell of a happening such as they are meant to produce (cf., e.g., PGM VII. 199-201; IV. 1471-79). This
story tells of a person compelled or bribed to give up something; it could have been used to make a
person give up anger. Hence it may have been attached to the Homeric verse for that purpose and was
interpolated here. The name Amara is obscure; it could mean “the bitter woman” (Hebrew or Latin- cf
Ru 1:20, Vulgate).
112. Cf Pistis Sophia 136 and 142, also widi permutations of iao. psinother is Egyptian for “die
sons of god.” [ R.K.R.] See also PGM III. 186 and n. See Glossary', s.v. “thernopsi formula.”
113. Homer, II. 5. 385. The same verse occurs in PGM IV. 474.
114. Homer, II. 6. 424, quoted also PGM IV. 468, 824.
115. Homer, II. 10. 193. See PGM IV. 470, where the same verse is quoted.
PGM IV. 850-929
55
then to Helios 19 months, which would be 57 years 8 months. In this period as-
signed to Helios, that is to the 19 months, devote yourself to what you seek. After
this he assigned to Ares 15 months, which would be 58 years 11 months. This is a
hostile period. / Then to Selene 25 months, which would be 61 years. They are 845
good. Then to Zeus 12 months, which would be 62 years. They are good. Then to
Kronos 30 months, which would be 64!/2 years. They arc bad for the body; within
them also are the dangerous points.
*Tr.: W. C. Gresc. The section appears to be a fragment from an astrological work about the
influence of die planets upon the periods of life.
PGM TV. 850-929
* Charm of Solomon that produces a trance 116 (works both on boys and on
adults): I swear to you by the holy gods and the heavenly gods not to share the
procedure of Solomon with anyone and certainly not to use it for something ques-
tionable 117 / unless a matter of necessity forces you, lest perchance wrath be pre-
served for you.
Formula to bespoken : “ourior amen im tarchob klamphob phre 118 phror
PTAR OUSIRI SAIOB TELO KABE / MANATATHOR ASIORIKOR BEEINOR AMGUN OM
MENICHTHA MACHTHA CHTHARA AMACHTHA AOU ALAKAMBOT BESINOR APH-
ESIOR PHREPH AMEI OUR LAMASIR CHERIOB PITREM / PHEOPH NIRIN ALLAN-
NATHATH CHERIOCH ONE BOUSIRI NINOUNO AMANAL GAGOSARIER MENIAM
TLER OOO AA ETNE OUSIRI OUSIRI OURISI OURISI MENfiMB MNEM / BRABEL
tnekaiob. Hear me, that is, my holy voice, because I call upon your holy names,
and reveal to me concerning the thing which I want, through the NN man or little
boy, for otherwise I will not defend your holy and undefiled / names. Come to me,
you who became Hesies arid were carried away by a river; inspire the NN man or
boy concerning that which I ask you: barbeth mnor arariak tarerim oar
TEROK SANIOR MENIK PHAUEK / DAPHORIOUMIN LARIOR ETNIAMIM KNOS CHA-
LAKTHIR KROPHER PHESIMOT PREBIB KNALA ERIBETIM GNORI. Come to me
through die NN man or little boy and tell me accurately since / 1 speak your names
which thrice- greatest Hermes 119 wrote in Heliopolis with hieroglyphic letters:
ARBAKORIPH MENIAM OBAOB ABNIOB MERIM BAIAX CHENOR PHENIM ORA ORE-
SIOU OUSIRI 120 PNIAMOUSIRI / PHREOUSIRI HORIOUSIRI NAEIOROUSIRI MEN-
IMOUSIRI MNEKOUSIRI PHLEKOUSIRI PELELOUSIRI ONIO RABKOUSIRI ANIOB-
OUSIRI AMEAOUSIRI ANOROUSIRI AMENEPHEOUSIRI / AMENIOUSIRI XONIOR
Eourousiri. Enter into him and reveal to me concerning the NN matter.”
After you have purified die designated man [by keeping him] from intercourse
for 3 days, you yourself also being pure, enter together with him. 121 After you have
taken him up / to an open place, seat him on unbaked bricks, dress him and give
him an anubian head of wheat 122 and a falconweed plant so that he will be pro-
tected. Gird yourself with a palm fiber of a male date palm, extend your hands / up
850
855
870
875
880
885
890
895
900
905
116. Literally, the title means “Solomon’s Collapse,” an indication of ecstatic seizure.
117. Or “for trivial reasons.”
118. The names include tire gods Pre, Osiris, and Amon.
119. That is, Hermes Trismegistos. For this name, see PGM VII. 551 and n.
120. The following list, after “Osiris,” contains a scries of compound deities whose second element is
the god Osiris, but only some can be identified: Pre-Osiris, Horus-Osiris, Onnuris-Osiris, Amenophis-
Osiris, and Amon-Osiris. [R.K.R.]
121. The following account has a parallel in Test. Sol. I. 3, ed. McCown, p. *8, 11. 5-15.
122. The meaning of Anubis’s head of grain is not known. On the god Anubis, see J.-C. Grenier,
A nubis Alexandrin etRomain , EPRO 57 (Leiden: Brill, 1977), esp. p. 139 for ear of grain. [R.K.R.]
56
PGM IV. 930-1114
to heaven, toward the rays of the sun, and say the formula 7 times. Next make an
offering of male frankincense after pouring out wine, beer, honey, or milk of a black
910 cow onto grapevine wood. Then say the formula 7 times just into the ear / of the
NN man or little boy, and right away he will fall down. But you sit down on the
bricks and make your inquiry, and he will describe everything with truth. You
915 should crown him with a garland of indigenous wormwood, / both him and you,
for god delights in the plant.
Dismissal of the lord : into the ear of NN: “ananak arbeoueri aeeioyo.”
If he tarries, sacrifice on grapevine charcoal a sesame seed [and] black cumin
920 while saying: / “ananak orbeousiri aeeioyo, go away, lord, to your own thrones
and protect him, NN, from all evil.” You learned thoroughly; keep it secret.
The awakening 123 [of the man or boy] is as follows: Stand away from the boy or
925 man, having your / palms spread on your buttocks, your feet together on the
ground, recite [the following] often until he is moved either toward the right or
toward die left: “amoun bei 124 abriath kichop otem pith.” Then as a dog. 125
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM IV. 930—1114
930 * Charm that produces a direct vision: 126 Prayer for divine alliance , which you
are to say first toward the sunrise, then the same first prayer is to be spoken to a
lamp. Whenever you seek divinations, be dressed in the garb of a prophet, shod
935 with fibers of the doum palm and / your head crowned with a spray from an olive
tree — but the spray should have a single-shooted garlic tied around the middle.
Clasp a pebble numbered 3663 127 to your breasts, and in this way make your invo-
cation.
Hymn : 128
“Hail, 129 serpent, and 180 stout lion, natural
940 Sources of fire. 131 / And hail, clear water and
Lofty-leafed tree, 132 and you who gather up
123. The translation of this difficult term follows Preisendanz (see apparatus ad loc.).
124. amoun eei is equivalent to Egyptian “Amon comes” (?), with Greek ijet standing for Egyptian
iy . [R.K.R.]
125. Probably referring to barking; cf. PGM IV. 1006.
126. This is equivalent to die type of Demotic spell called ph-ntr-s pell, literally, a “god’s arrival” spell.
See J. H. Johnson, “Louvre E 3229: A Demotic Magical Text,” Enchoria 7 (1977) : 90-91.
127. According to Domseiff, Das Alphabet 184, the mystical number is 3663 and refers to bain-
choooch (the numerical value of the Greek letters being 2 + 1 + 10 + 50 + 600 + 800 + 800 + 600
= 3663.
128. Preisendanz ends the hymn at 1. 948, but the petition to the god continues through 1. 955. LI.
949—54 include references to the spell for a direct vision, the lamp divination, and the prayer for divine
alliance. Thus the present form of these lines conies from the time when the spell was put together. LI.
949-54 contain vestiges of verse and originally may have been part of the hymn which was composed
by the final audtor; or they may be a prose addition to part of an earlier hymn, perhaps substituting for,
or expanding the petition in, the original hymn. [W.C.G.]
129. These dactylic hexameters also form the reconstructed Hvmn 3; see Preisendanz, vol. II,
p. 238.
130. re, though necessary to the sense, mars die hexameter. [E.N.O.]
131 . A possible echo of a pre-Socratic expression, but to the author of this spell this phrase must have
had a much different meaning. Preisendanz wants to emend and read <f>ucri Kai tmpo? apxq (“O Nature
and fire’s origin”), but the emendation is more clever than persuasive. For Physis as a goddess, sec PGM
I. 310 and n. [E.N.O.]
132. An adaptation of Homer, Od. 4. 458, which in the context of die spell indicates that the audior
knew not only the Homeric verse but the whole passage as well. [E.N.O.j
PGM TV. 930-1114
57
Clover from golden fields of beans , 133 and who
Cause gentle foam to gush forth from pure mouths.
Scarab, who drive the orb of fertile fire,
O self-engendered one , 1 34 because you are
Two-syllabled, ae, and are the first-
Appearing one, / nod me assent, I pray.
Because your mystic symbols I declare,
EO AI OY AMERR OOUOTH IYIOE MARMA RAIJOTH LAILAM SOUMARTA.
Be gracious unto me, first-father, and
May you yourself send strength as my companion.
Stay allied, lord, and listen to me / through the charm that produces direct vision
which I do today, and reveal to me concerning those things I ask you through the
lamp divination for direct vision which I do today, I, NN, iy eye oo aee iaee aiaje
e ai ey eie 00006 ey EO / iaoai” (repeat ). 135
Light-bringing charm : Crown your head with the same spray, stand in die same
fashion facing the lamp, close your eyes and recite this spell 7 times.
Spell : “I call upon you, the living god, / fiery, invisible begetter of light, lael
PEIPTA PHOS ZA PAI PHTHENTHA PHOSZA PYRI BELLA IAO IAO EYO OEE A OY EOI A
eeioyo give your strength, rouse your daimon, / enter into this fire, fill it with a
divine spirit, and show me your might. Let there be opened for me the house of the
all-powerful god albalal , 136 who is in this light. / Let there be light, breadth,
depth, length, height, brightness, and let him who is inside shine dirough, the lord
bouel 137 phtha phtha phthael phtha ABAi BAINCHOOOCH, now, now; imme-
diately, immediately; quickly, quickly
Light-retaining spell that is spoken once / in order that the light-magic might
remain with you, for sometimes when you invoke the god-bringing spell darkness
is produced. Therefore, you should conjure in the following way.
Spell : “I conjure you, holy light, holy brightness, breadth, depth, length, height,
brightness, by the holy names / which I have spoken and am now going to speak.
By LAO SABAOTH ARBATHIAO SESENGENBARPHARAGGES ABLANATHANALBA AK-
rammachamari ai ai iao AX ax inax, remain by me in the present hour, until I
pray to the god / and learn about the things I desire.”
God-bringing spell to be spoken three times with your eyes open; “I call upon
you, the greatest god, sovereign horos harpokrates alkib harsamosi ioai
dagennouth raracharai / abraiaoth, you who enlighten the universe and by
your own power illumine the whole world, god of gods, benefactor, ao iao eaey,
you who direct night and day, ai ao, handle and steer the tiller , 138 restrain die set-
133. This refers to the Egyptian bean from the Nymphean lotus mentioned in PGM IV. 1 1 10. Thus
the reference is again to Horus atop the lotus. [R.K.R.]
134. “Self-generation” is a common epithet of Khepri (sec Glossary, s.v. “Scarab”) and is a pun on
his name which means “to come into being.” f R.K.R.] See also J. Whittaker, “Self-generating Principles
in Second-century Gnostic Systems,” in B. Layton, ed., The Rediscovery of Gnosticism, vol. I: The School
of Valentinus, Studies in the History of Religions (Supplements to Numen) 41 (Leiden; Brill, 1980)
176-93.
135. Here the papyrus has the sign //, perhaps signifying doubling. Sec below, 11. 973 and 1046 (in
the papyrus).
136. For this name, see T. Hopfner, “Orientalisch-Religionsgeschichtliches aus den griechischen
Zauberpapyri Agyptens,” Archiv Orientdlni 3 (1931) ; 341.
137. This name is not attested elsewhere.
138. A reference to the solar bark of Re and the serpent Apophis, who attempts daily to devour the
sun. Cf. Pritchard, ANET 6—7; E. Homung and A. Badawy, “Apophis,” LdA 1 (1975) ; 350— 51.
[R.K.R.]
945
950
955
960
965
970
975
980
985
990
58
PGM IV. 930-1114
995 pent, / you Good, holy 139 Daimon, whose name is harbathanops iaoai, whom
sunrises and sunsets hymn when you arise and set. You who are praised among all
1000 gods, angels and daimons, come and appear to me, god of gods, horos / hARPO-
KRATES ALKTB HARSAMOSI LAO AI DAGENNOUTH RARACHARAI ABRAIAOTH. En-
ter, appear to me. Lord, because I call upon you as the three baboons 140 call upon
1005 you, who speak / your holy name in a symbolic fashion, a ee eee mi ooooo
yyyyyy 0660006 (speak as a baboon). Enter in, appear to me, lord, for I speak
your greatest names: Barbara! barbaraoth aremfsous pertaomEch pera /
1010 KONETHCH IAO BAL BEL BOL BE SRO IAOEI OYEEI Efil EOYEI AEI El LYO El. You
who are seated on the top of the world and judge the universe, surrounded by the
1015 circle of truth and honesty, / iyaE ioai, enter in; appear to me, lord, to me, the one
who is before fire and snow and in the midst of them, because my name is BAIN-
choooch. I am the one who is from heaven; my name is balsames. Enter in, ap-
1020 pear to me, 141 / lord, you who have a great name, you whom we all have each in our
own heart; your name is barphanneth ralphai ninther chouceiai. You who
break apart rocks and change the names of gods, enter in, appear to me, lord, you
1025 who have in fire your power / and your strength, sesengenbarpharaggEs. You
who are seated within the 7 poles, aeeioyo, you who have on your head a golden
crown and in your hand a Memnonian staff 142 with which you send out the gods,
1030 your name is barbariel barbaraiEl god / barbaraEl bel bouel. Enter in,
lord, and answer me with your holy voice in order that I might hear dearly and un-
1035 erringly concerning the NN matter, iyeye ooaee (fonnula) iaeE aiae eai eyEie /
OOOOO IYEO IAO AI.”
Charm of compulsion -. If somehow he delays, say in addition this following in-
cantation (say the incantation one or 3 times): “The great, living god commands
you, he who lives for eons of eons, who shakes together, who thunders, who cre-
1040 ated every / soul and race, iao aoi OlA Aio IOA oai. Enter in, appear to me,
lord, happy, kind, gentle, glorious, not angry, because I conjure you by the lord,
1045 iao aoi Ola aio IOA oai apta phoira zazou / chame. Enter in, lord, appear to
me happy, kind, gentle, [glorious,] 143 not angry” (repeat). 144
Salutation said once after the god enters. While holding the pebble, say: “Hail,
lord, god of gods, benefactor, horos harpokrates alkib harsamosi lao ai
1050 da/gennouth raracharai abraiao; let your Hours which you traverse be wel-
comed; let your Glories 145 be welcomed forever, lord.”
139. The occurrence of “holy” between “good” and “daimon” makes it doubtful that the familiar
Good Daimon is meant. Sec Glossary, s.v.; see also the apparatus ad loc.
140. Baboons were thought to praise the sun when they chattered at it. For a representation, sec
A. Piankoff, Mythological Papyri (New York: Pantheon Books, 1957), voi. I, 39, fig. 22 and pi. I. Sec also
Bonnet, RARG 7-8, s.v. “Affe.” [R.K.R.] On the magician’s imitation of the “language” of animals, see
Hopfher, OZ I, sections 778-80. Understanding this language of animals belongs to the traditional
phenomenology of the “divine man” and magician. See, e.g., Porphyry, De abst. 3. 3, and on the whole
topic H. Gimtert, Von der Sprache der G'dtter und Geister (Halle: Nicmeyer, 1921); Betz, Lukian 28—38.
141. Preisendanz has tpdvr) i which should be read as ipavjjM /jlol, as in PGM IV. 1001, 1006,
1015, 1024, 1041, 1045. [W.C.G. ]
142. For Mcmnon as a deified hero in Egypt, see A. Batailk, Les Memnonia (Cairo: L’lnstimt fran-
gais d’archeologie orientale, 1952) 1 -21; as recipient of worship, see D. Wildung, Imhotep undAmenhotep
(Munich: Dcutscher Kunsrverlag, 1977) 299, no. 82. [R.K.R.]
143. An addition by Preisendanz in order to conform to PGM IV. 1042. But such consistency is not
always to be expected. Cf. 11. 1063-65 with 1079-80.
144. See the note above on PGM IV. 955, regarding the sign for doubling.
145. Cf. PGM I. 199 and n.
PGM IV. 930-1114
59
Charm to retain the god: When he comes in, after greeting him, step with your
left hee! on the big toe of his right foot, and he will not / go away unless you raise
your heel from his toe i4 ° and at the same time say the dismissal.
Dismissal: Close your eyes, release the pebble which you have been holding, lift
the crown up from your head and your heel from his / toe, and, while keeping your
eyes closed, say 3 times: “I give thanks to you lord bainchoooch, who is bal-
sam is. Go away, go away, lord, into your own heavens, into your own palaces, into
your own course. Keep me healthy, unharmed, not plagued bv ghosts, free from
calamity and without terror. Hear me during my / lifetime.”
Dismissal of the brightness: “choo chOo ochooch , 147 holy brightness.” In or-
der that the brightness also go away: 143 “Go away, holy brightness, go away, beau-
tiful and holy light of the highest god, aiaona.” Say it one time with closed eyes,
smear yourself / with Coptic kohl; 149 smear yourself by means of a golden probe.
Phylactery for the rite, which you must wear for the protection of your whole
body: On fa strip] 150 from a linen cloth taken from a marble statue of Harpokrates
in any temple [whatever] / write with myrrh these things: “I am horos alkib
HARSAMOSIS LAO AI DAGENNOUTH RARACHARAI ABRAIAOTH, SOU of ISIS ATHTHA
baththa and of osiris osor[on]nophris; keep me healthy, unharmed, not
plagued by ghosts and without terror during my I lifetime.” Place inside the strip
of cloth an everliving plant; 151 roll it up and tie it 7 times with threads of Anubis. 152
Wear it around your neck whenever you perform the rite. /
Preparation : Take broad cords of papyrus, tie them to the four corners of the
room so that they form an X. In the middle of the X attach a ring-shaped mat made
from single-stemmed wormwood. Provide / a glazed lamp 153 with a wick called
reed grass, and rub the wick itself with fat of a black, male, firstborn and first-reared
ram. Fill the lamp with good olive oil, and place it in the middle, / on the mat.
Light the lamp and stand in the previously mentioned fashion, facing the sunrise,
whenever you perform the rite, without distinguishing the days. 154 Purify your-
self / from everything three days in advance, and nib the wick beforehand with the
fat of a black, male, firstborn and first-reared ram.
Signs of the lamp: After saying the light-bringing spell, open your eyes and you
will see / the light of the lamp becoming like a vault. Then while closing your eyes
say ( differently : 3 . . , 155 after saying 3 times), and after opening your eyes you will
see all tilings wide-open and die greatest brightness within, but the lamp shining
nowhere. Then you will see the god / seated on a lotus, 156 decorated with rays, his
146. The translation follows the interpretation by Prcisendanz; see the apparatus ad loc.
147. choo choo ochooch corresponds to Coptic Kd ico 6 kake, “depart, depart, O darkness.”
[R.K.R.]
148. An attempt on the part of the redactor of the papyrus text to explain the need for a second
dismissal.
149. Powdered antimony used as cyepainr.
150. Addition by Eitrem on the basis ofl. 1081.
151. A general name for plants that seem to live a long time. Sec R. Strombcrg, Grtechiscbe Pfhmzen-
namen, Gotebwcfs Hogskolas Arsskrifi 46 (Goteborg: Elandcrs, 1940) 103.
152. On the Anubian thread, see PGM t. 147 and n.
153. On this type of faience, see PGM IV. 55 and n.
154. That is, the charm can be performed on any day. For charms that can be used only on certain
days, cf. PGM III. 275-81; VII. 155-67, 284-89.'
155. The text is obscure at this point but seems to include alternative instructions. See apparatus
ad loc.
156. The deity seated on the lotus flower is Harpokrates, invoked here in 11. 989, 999-1000, and
1074-75. This standard depiction of Harpokrates is found in ail the media during the Greco-Roman
1055
1060
1065
1070
1075
1080
1085
1090
1095
1100
1105
1110
60
PGM TV. 1115-66
right hand raised in greeting and left [holding] a flail, while being carried in the
hands of 2 angels with 12 rays around them.
*Tr.: W. C. Gresc (11. 930—38; 949-1114) and E. N. O’Neil (hymnic sections, II. 939-48).
This spell is a composite, made by combining a lamp divination with a charm for a direct
vision and including an introductory prayer for divine alliance. The repetition in the present
charm (note especially the two dismissals in 11. 1057ff. and 1065fF. and the explanation in 11.
1066ff.) is a result of the inclusion of similar dements from both of the charms here
combined.
PGM IV. 1115-66
1115 * Hidden 157 stele: 158 “Hail, entire system of the aerial spirit, 159 phogaloa. Hail,
spirit who extends from heaven to earth, erdhneu, and from earth which is in the
1120 middle chamber of the / universe unto the borders of the abyss, meremogga.' 60
Hail, spirit who enters into me, convulses me, and leaves me kindly according to
1125 the will of god, ioe zanophie. / Hail, beginning and end of the immovable na-
ture, doryglaophon. Hail, revolution of untiring service by heavenly bodies,
rogyeu anami pelegeon adara eioph. Hail, radiance of the universe subordi-
1130 nate / to the solar ray, ieo yeo iae ai eoy oei. Hail, orb of die night-illuminating,
unequally shining moon, aio rema rodouopia. Hail, all spirits of the aerial im-
1135 ages / romidoue aganasou othaua. Hail to those to whom the greeting is
given with blessing, to brothers and sisters, to holy men and holy women. O great,
greatest, round, incomprehensible figure of the universe, heavenly enroches-
1140 yel; / in heaven, peletheu; of ether, iogaraa; in the ether, thopyleo dardy;
watery, ioedes; earthy, perephia; fiery, aphthalya; windlike, ioie eo aya; lumi-
1145 nous, alapie; dark-looking, / iepseria; shining with heavenly light, adamalor;
moist, fiery, and cold spirit. I glorify you, god of gods, the one who brought order
to the universe, areo pieua; the one who gathered together the abyss at the invisi-
1150 ble foundation of its position, pero mysel / o pentonax; the one who separated
heaven and earth and covered die heaven with eternal, golden wings, rodery
OYOA; the one who fixed the eardi on eternal foundations, aleiooa; the one who
1155 hung up / die ether high above the earth, AIE oe ioya; die one who scattered the
air with self-moving breezes, oie oyo; the one who put the water roundabout,
1160 orepelya; the one who raises up hurricanes, oristhaua; / die one who thunders,
thephichyonel; the one who hurls lightnings, ourenes; the one who rains, os-
iorni pheugalga; the one who shakes, peratonel; the one who produces living
creatures, aresigyloa; the god of the Aions; you are great, lord, god, ruler of the
period. Harpokrates holds the flail, the symbol of royalty, here interpreted as a whip. See A. M. El-
Kachab, “Some Gem-Amulets Depicting Harpocrates Seated on a Lotus Flower,” JEA 57 (1971):
132—45, esp. 133—34. For the gesture of greeting, a modification under the influence of Helios instead
of the more common gesture of finger sucking, sec S. Morenz and J. Schubert, Der Gott auf der Blume
(Ascona: Artibus Asiae, 1954). [R.K.R.]
157. The exact meaning of airoKpvipos is uncertain here. LSJ, s.v., II, gives as possible meanings
“obscure, recondite, hard to understand.” More likely is tire meaning “secret,” for which see Bauer, s.v.;
cf. also PGM XIII. 344, 731, 732, 1057, 1078.
158. The term stele occurs in the PGM with several meanings. Originally it refers to a plate of stone
or metal on which texts could be inscribed (e.g., VIII. 42), but most of the time the term is a literary
device suggesting the text was copied from a stone slab. It can also refer to an amulet in the shape of a
stele (as in PGM VII. 215; see the picture Tafd I , Abbildung 1 in Preisendanz, vol. II).
159. The prayer is addressed to the god Ajon (see 1. 1164). Cf. Reitzenstein, Poimandres 277-78;
Boussct, Religionsgeschicbtliche Studien 200, 208—10. See also PGM I. 309 and n.
160. For this imagery, sec H. O. Lange, Der magische Papyrus Harris (Copenhagen: Host, 1927) 74;
furthermore, DMP col. XX, 1. 28 (p. 133); PGM IV. 1210. [R.K.R.]
PGM IV. 1167-1226 61
All, ARCHIZO / NYON THENAR METHOR PARY PHEZOR THAPSAMYDO MAROMI 1165
CHELOPSA.”
*Tr.: W. C. Grcse.
PGM IV. 1167-1226
* Stele that is useful for all things; it even delivers from death. Do not investigate
what is in it.
Formula : “I praise you, 161 the one and blessed of the eons and / father of the 1170
world, with cosmic prayers. Come to me, you who filled the whole universe with
air, who hung up the fire from the [heavenly] water and separated the earth from
the water. Pay attention, form, spirit, / earth and sea, to a word from the one who 1175
is wise concerning divine Necessity, and accept my words as fiery darts, because
I am a man, 162 the most beautiful creature of the god in heaven, made out of
spirit, / dew, and earth. Heaven, be opened; accept my words. Listen, Helios, fa- 1180
ther of the world; I call upon you with your name ao ey eoi aioe yeoa ouor-
ZARA 1AMANTHATHRE KANTHIOPER / GARPSARTHRE MENIARDAPA KENTHER 1185
DRYOMEN THRANDRETHRE IABE ZELANTHI BER ZATHRE ZAKENTI biollithre
a E d oyo Ed oo ramiatha AEO oyo oyo oayo: the only one having the origi-
nal / element. You are the holy and powerful name considered sacred by all the an- 1190
gels; protect me, so- and-so, from every excess of power and from every violent act.
Yes, do this, / lord, god of gods, ialdazao b latham macho r phrix ae keoph 1195
EEA DYMEO PHERPHRITHO IACHTHO PSYCHEO PHI RITHMEO ROSE ROTH THAMA-
STRAPHATI RIMPSAOCH IALTHE MEACHI ARBATHANOPS, / Creator of the world, 1200
creator of the universe, lord, god of gods, marmario iao. I have spoken of your
unsurpassable glory, 163 you who created gods, archangels, and decans. The ten
thousands of angels stood by [you] and exalted / the heaven, and the lord witnessed 1205
to your Wisdom, 164 which is Aion, ieoyeoe iaeaieoeyoei, and said that you are as
strong as he is. I invoke your hundred-lettered / name 165 which extends from the 1210
sky to the depth of the earth; save me, for you are always ever rejoicing in saving
those who are yours, atheze phoi aaa daiagthi theobis phiath thambrami
ABRAOTH / CHTHOLCHIL THOE OELCHOTH THIOOEMCH CHOOMCH SAESI ISACH- 1215
choe ierouthra ooooo aioai (100 letters). I call upon you, the one on the gold
leaf, 166 before whom the unquenchable lamp continually burns, 167 / the great God, 1220
the one who shone on the whole world, who is radiant at Jerusalem, lord, iao aie
IOE Oil OIE IE AIOAI AI OYO AOE EEI IEO lYO AEI AO AOA AEEI YO EIE / AEO IEY 1225
aee iaia iao ey aey iae ei aaa hi eee io IOE iao (100 letters), tor a blessing,
lord.”
*Tr. : W. C. Grcse.
161. The prayer is addressed to the god Aion. See Bousset, Religionsgcschkhtlkhc Studien 198, who
compares the prayer with the older form in I. 196-221.
162. For different interpretations and translations, see Rcitzenstein, Poimandres 279, who thinks of
the god Anthropos, “Man”; cf. also Betz, “The Delphic Maxim,” 169: “I am a human being, the heav-
enly deity's most beautiful creation. . . .”
163. Prciscndanz prints A6£ce, as if to suggest a divine hypostasis. See also PGM I. 199.
164. The notion of “Wisdom” (Sophia) is here identified with Aion, a unique instance in the PGM.
Cf. PGM I. 210, and Bousset, Religionsgeschichtliche Studien 198-99.
165. Cf. 1. 1225.
166. This protective prayer presumes a section describing a gold lamella to be worn as a phylactery.
The phylactery contained the hundred-letter name of the god and was worn as protection against “every
excess of power” and the “very violent act” mentioned in U. 1193-94.
167. For the light miracle at Jerusalem, see PGM IV. 3070 and n. See also PDM xiv. 490 and
K. Prciscndanz, “Zum grossen Pariser Zauberpapyrus,” ARW 17 (1914) : 347-48.
62
PGM IV. 1227-64
1230
1235
1240
1245
1250
1255
1260
1265
1270
1275
1280
PGM TV. 1227-64
* Excellent rite for driving out daimons: Formula to be spoken over his head:
Place olive branches before him, / and stand behind him and say:
“Hail, God of Abraham; hail, God of Isaac; hail, God of Jacob; Jesus Chres tos, 168
die Holy Spirit, the Son of the Father, who is above 169 the Seven, / who is within
the Seven. Bring Iao Sabaoth; may your power issue fo rth from him, NN, until
you drive away this unclean daimon Satan, who is in him. I conjure you, daimon,
/ whoever you are, by this god, sabarbarbathioth sabarbarbathiouth $abar-
barbathioneth sabarbarbaphai. Come out, daimon, whoever you are, and stay
away from him, NN, / now, now; immediately, immediately. Come out, daimon,
since I bind you with unbreakable adamantine fetters, and I deliver you into the
black chaos in perdition.”
Preparation : take 7 olive branches; for six of them. / tie together the two ends of
each one, but for die remaining one use it like a whip as you utter the conjuration.
Keep it secret; it is proven.
After driving out the daimon, hang around him, NN, a phylactery, which the
patient puts on after the expulsion of the daimon — a phylactery with these things
[written] on / a tin metal leaf: “bor phor phorba phor phorba bes cuarin
BAUBO TE PHOR BORPHORBA PHORBABOR BAPHORBA PHABRAIE PHORBA
PHARBA PH0RPHOR PHORBA / BOPHOR PHORBA PHORPHOR PHORBA BOBOR-
borba pamphorba phorphor phorba, protect him, NN.” But another version
has a phylactery on which this sign 170 occurs: %
* Tr. : M. W. Meyer. This Greek and Coptic exorcistic spell is discussed by Tanibornino,
RGVV VII 3, 9; 10. For additional literature, see Preiscndanz, PGM vol. I, 114 and idem,
APF 8 (1927): 115.
PGM TV. 1265-74
* Aphrodite’s name which becomes known to no one quicldy is nepherieri 171 —
this is die name. If you wish to win a woman who is beautiful, be pure for 3 days,
make an offering of frankincense, / and call upon this name over it. You approach
the woman and say it seven times in your soul as you gaze at her, and in this way it
will succeed. 172 But do this for 7 days.
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM TV. 1275-1322
* Bear- charm 173 which accomplishes everything: Formula : “I call upon you, the
greatest power in heaven” ( others : “in the Bear”) “appointed by the lord god to
turn with a strong / hand die holy pole, nikaroplex. Listen to me, Helios, Phre; 174
hear the holy [prayer], you who hold together the universe and bring to life the
168. On Chrestos , “excellent one,” rather than Christos , “anointed one,” see K. Weiss, TDNT 9
(1974) :484— 85; B. Layton, The Gnostic Treatise on Resurrection from Nag llammadi (Missoula, Mon-
tana: Scholars Press, 1979) 44-45; Smith, Jesus the Magician 63.
169. Or “below.”
170. This sign is familiar from the so-called Chnoubis amulets. See Bonner, SMA 54—55; Delatte
and Dcrchain, Les Intailles magiques 54-57; A. Jacoby, “Ein Berliner Chnoubisamulett,” ARW 28
(1930) : 269-70. The translation of the sentence is according to the interpretation by &.D.K.
171. Nepherieri is the Egyptian NJr-iry.t , “the beautiful eye,” a suitable epithet for Aphrodite/
Hathor. See G. Moller, in Preisendanz, apparatus ad loc. [J.B.; R.K.R.]
172. Or “you will succeed,” foe subject being foe spell itself.
173. The spell invokes foe astral constellation of foe Bear and its powers. Sec PGM IV. 700, 1331;
VII. 687; XXIII. 10.
174. That is, Helios-Pre.
PGM IV. 1331-89
63
whole world, thozopithe euchandama ochrienther / omnyodes chemio-
chynges ieoy” (perform a sacrifice) “thermouther psiphirix phrosali kan-
THIMEO ZANZEMIA OPER PEROMENES ROTHIEU ENINDEU KORKOUNTHO EUMEN
meni kedeua kepseoi” (add the usual).
Petition I to the sun at sunset. Formula : “thenor, O Helios, santhenor, I
beseech you, lord, may the place and lord of the Bear devote themselves to me”
(while petitioning, sacrifice armara. 175 Do it at sunset).
Charm of compulsion for the 3rd day. “anteberoyrtor eremnethechor
CHNYCHIROANTOR MENELEOCHEU EESSIPO DOTER EUARETO GOU PI PHYLAKE
omalamingormantatoncha / do the NN thing.”
The first formula in a different way : “thozopithe. Bear, greatest goddess,
ruling heaven, reigning over the pole of the stars, highest, beautiful-shining god-
dess, incorruptible element, composite of the all, all-illuminating, / bond of the
universe aeeioyo (square), 176 you who stand on the pole, you whom the lord god
appointed to turn die holy pole with a strong hand: thozopithe (formula).”
Offering for the procedure: 4 drams of frankincense, 4 drams of myrrh, 2 ounces
each of cassia leaf and / of white pepper, 1 dram of bdellion, 1 dram of asphodel
seed, 2 drams each of amomon, of saffron, of terebinth storax, 1 dram of worm-
wood, ... of vetch plant, priestly Egyptian incense, the complete brain of a black
ram. / Combine these with white Mendesian wine 177 and honey, and make pellets
ofbread.
Phylactery for the procedure: Wear a wolf knucklebone, mix juice of vetch and of
pondweed in a censer, / write in the middle of the censer this name: “thermou-
therepsiphiriphi 178 pisali” (24 letters), 179 and in this way make an offering.
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM IV. 1323-30
* Another: “komphtho komasith komnoun 180 you who shook and shake the
world, you who have swallowed the ever-living serpent and daily / raise the disk of
the sun and of the moon, you whose name is ithioo El arbathiao e, send up to
me, NN, at night the daimon of this night to reveal to me concerning / the NN
thing.”
*Tr.: W. C. Gresc.
PGM TV. 1331—89
* Powerful spell of the Bear 181 which accomplishes anything: Take the fat of a
black ass, the fat of a dappled she-goat, the fat of a black bull, and Ethiopian cumin,
mix all together / and make an offering to the Bear, having as a phylactery hairs
175. For the recipe, see below, II. 1308—16, and Hopfner, OZ I, section 803. Cf. PGM IV. 1990.
176. According to Prciscndanz, irkivDLov (square) inserted here means that the letters are to be ar-
ranged in a series of lines forming a square. For this form of pictorial writing, see V. Gardthausen,
Griechische Paldographic II (Leipzig: Veit, 2 1913) 59. For a similar piece, see A. Grcifenhagen, Schmuckar-
beiten in Edelmetall, II: Einzelstiicke (Berlin: Staatliche Museen, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Antikenab-
teilung, 1975) 98 n. 11; cf. also PGM XIII. 905-11.
177. Cf. PGM I. 85 and n.
178. Thermouth is Rennutet, the Egyptian harvest goddess and Fate. See Bonnet, RARG 803—4,
s.v. “Thermutis.” See also PGM IV. 664 and n. (,
179. That is, in Greek letters.
1 80. Preisendanz suggests this line may contain Coptic, which according to F. LI. Griffith, “The Old
Coptic Magical Text of Paris,” ZAS 38 (1900) : 93, means “earth-shaker, ground-shaker, abvss-shaker.”
[R.K.R.] Cf. PGM III. 680.
181. For the meaning of the constellation of the Bear, see PGM IV. 1275.
1285
1290
1295
1300
1305
1310
1315
1320
1325
1330
1335
64
PGM IV. 1390-1495
from die same animals which you have plaited into a cord and are wearing as a
diadem around your head. Anoint your lips with the fats, smear your whole body
1340 with storax / oil, and make your petition while holding a single-shooted Egyptian
onion. Speak concerning whatever you wish. Gird yourself with a palm fiber of a
male date palm, kneel down, and speak the following formula :
1345 / “I call upon you, holy, very-powerful, very-glorious, very-strong, holy, auto-
1350 chthons, assistants of the great god, the powerful chief daimons, you who / are in-
habitants of Chaos, 182 of Erebos, of the abyss, of the depth, of eardi, dwelling in the
recesses of heaven, lurking in the nooks and crannies of houses, shrouded in dark
clouds, watchers of filings not to be seen, guardians of secrets, leaders of those in
1355 the underworld, administrators / of the infinite, wielding power over earth, earth-
shakers, foundation-layers, servants in the chasm, shudderful fighters, fearful minis-
1360 ters, turning file spindle, freezing snow and rain, air-transversers, causing / summer
heat, wind-bringers, lords of Fate, inhabitants of dark Erebos, bringers of compul-
sion, sending flames of fire, bringing snow and dew, wind-releasers, disturbers of
1365 the deep, treaders on the calm sea, mighty in courage, grievers / of the heart, pow-
erful potentates, cliff-walkers, adverse daimons, iron-hearted, wild-tempered, un-
1370 ruly, guarding Tartaros, misleading Fate, all-seeing, all-hearing, / all-subjecting,
heaven-walkers, spirit-givers, living simply, heaven-shakers, gladdening the heart,
those who join together death, revealers of angels, punishers of mortals, sunless
1375 revealers, rulers of daimons, / air-transversers, almighty, holy, unconquerable
AOTH 183 ABAOTH BASYM ISAK SABAOTH IAO IAKOP MANARA SKORTOURr MOR-
troum ephraula three rsa; do the NN matter.”
1380 / Then write on a piece of papyrus the hundred-lettered name of Typhon, 184
curved as a star, and bind it in the middle of the core with the letters showing.
1385 This is the name : / achchor achchor achachachptoumi chachcho
CHARACHOCH CHAPTOUME CHORA CHOCH APTOUMIME CHOCHAPTOU CHA-
RACHPTOU CHACHCHO CHARA CHOCH PTENACHOCHEOU.
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM IV. 1390-1495
1390 *Love spell of attraction performed with the help of heroes or gladiators or
those who have died a violent death: Leave a little of the bread which you eat;
break it up and form it into seven bite-size pieces. And go to where heroes and
1395 gladiators and those who have died a violent death were slain. / Say the spell to the
pieces of bread and throw them. And pick up some polluted dirt from the place
where you perform the ritual and throw it inside the house of the woman whom
you desire, go on home and go to sleep.
The spell which is said upon the pieces of bread is this :
1400 “To l8S Moirai, Destinies, / Malignities,
To Famine, Jealousy, to those who died
182. For these names referring to the underworld places of Greek mythology, see Orph. Frag. 1 and
54; Homer, II. 16. 327; Od. 10. 528; Hesiod, Theog. 515; etc. See W. K. C. Guthrie, Orpheus ami Greek
Religion (London: Methuen, 1952) 92.
183. The magical words contain some garbled Aramaic. On basym, see PGM LXX. 3 and n.; XIII.
147, 593. For an explanation from the Hebrew ba-shem , see G. Alon, Jews, Judaism and the Classical
World (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1977) 235—51, esp. 237, 240.
184. The association of Typhon with the constellation of the Bear (cf. PGM IV. 1331, 1335) is Egyp-
tian. The Bear represents the soul of Typhon, the mu rderer of Osiris. See Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 21,
359D, and Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride 373.
185. These iambic trimeters (which are sometimes rather clumsy) have been adapted to form the
reconstructed Hymn 25, for which sec Preiscndanz, vol. II, p. 263. [E.N.O. |
PGM TV. 1390-1495
65
Untimely deaths and those dead violently.
I’m sending food: Three-headed Goddess, Lady
Of Night, who feed on filth, O Virgin, thou
Key-holding Persephassa, 186 Kore out
Of Tartaros, grim-eyed, dreadful, child girt /
With fiery serpents, he, NN, has mixed
With tears and bitter groans leftovers from
His own food, so that you, O luckless heroes
Who are confined there in the NN place,
May bring success to him who is beset
With torments. You who’ve left the light, O you
Unfortunate ones, / bring success to him,
NN, who is distressed at heart because
Of her, NN, ungodly and unholy.
So bring her wracked with torment— and in haste!
EIOUT ABAOTH PSAKERBA ARBATHIAO LALAOITH / IOSACHOTOU ALLALETHO
You too as well, Lady, who feed on filth 187
SYNATRAKABI BAUBARABAS ENPHNOUN MORKA 188 ERESCHIGAL NEBOUTOSOUA-
leth, and send the Erinys orgogorgoniotrian , 189
Who rouses up with fire souls of the dead, /
Unlucky heroes, luckless heroines,
Who in this place, who on this day, who in
This hour, who in coffins of myrtlewood.
Give heed to me and rouse / her, NN, on
This night and from her eyes remove sweet sleep.
And cause her wretched care and fearful pain.
Cause her to follow after my footsteps.
And / for my will give her a willingness
LTntil she does what I command of her.
O mistress Hekate 190
PHORBA PHORBOBAR BARO PHORPHOR PHORBAI
O Lady of die Crossroads, O Black Bitch.”
When you have done / these things for 3 days and accomplish nothing, then use
this forceful spell: just go to the same place and again perform the ritual of die
bread pieces. Then upon ashes of flax offer up dung / from a black cow and say this
and again pick up the polluted dirt and throw it as you have learned.
The words spoken over the offering are these :
“Chthonic Hermes and chthonic Hekate and chthonic Acheron 191 and chthonic /
186. A poetic form of Persephone.
1 87. These words with some changes are included as part of Hymn 25 (11. 14- 16), and they seem to
scan, but without a translation possible for the formulaic terms nothing can be gained by inserting them
in the verse section. [E.N.O.]
188. A. jacoby has proposed (see Preiscndanz, apparatus ad loc.) that the name is that of the Babylo-
nian deity Omorka. Sec O. Hofer, in Roscher 3/1 (1897—1902) 868—69, s.v. “Omorka."
189. The epithet “the Orgogorgoniotrian” signifies one of foe Furies (Erinys). According to LSJ,
s.v., it is found only here in Greek.
190. The meter breaks down at this point and only by rearranging and omitting words can Hymn 25
(I. 28) accommodate the concluding phrases here. [E.N.O.J
191. The name Acheron refers to the mythical river or sea in foe underworld. There is also a connec-
tion with the river Acheron in Epirus, where the famous underworld oracle of Ephyra was located. See
E. Vcrmculc, Aspects of Death in Early Greek Art and Poetry (Berkeley and Ixis Angeles: University of
California Press, 1979) 252. The oracle of Ephyra has been excavated; see S. I. Dakaris, w Das Tau-
1405
1410
1415
1420
1425
1430
1435
1440
66
PGM IV. 1390-1495
1445 flesh-eaters and chthonic god and chthonic Amphiaraos 192 and chdionic attendants
1450 and chthonic spirts and chthonic sins and chthonic dreams / and chthonic oaths
and chthonic Aristc 198 and chthonic Tartaros and chthonic witchery, chthonic
Charon and chthonic escorts and the dead and the daimons and souls of all men: /
1455 come today, Moirai and Destiny; accomplish the purpose with the help of the love
spell of attraction, that you may attract to me her, NN whose mother is NN, to me
NN, whose mother is NN (add the usual), because I am calling
1460 0 194 primal Chaos, / Erebos, and you
O awful water of the Styx, O streams
O Lethe, Hades’ Acherousian pool,
O Hekate and Pluto and Kore,
And chthonic Hermes, Moirai, Punishments,
1465 Both Acheron and Aiakos, 195 / gatekeeper
Of the eternal bars, now open quickly,
O thou Key-holder, guardian, Anubis. 196
Send up to me the phantoms of the dead
Forthwith for service in this very hour. /
1470 So that they may go and attract to me, NN, her, NN, whose mother is NN” (add
the usual).
“Isis 197 came, holding on her shoulders her brother who is her bedfellow, 198 and
1475 Zeus came down from Olympus and stood awaiting the phantoms / of the dead as
they were being led to her, NN, and were performing the NN business (add the
usual). All the immortal gods and all the goddesses came to see the phantoms of
1480 these dead. Do not, therefore, delay; / do not loiter, but dispatch, O gods, the
phantoms of these dead, so that having gone to her NN they may perform the NN
1485 deed (add the usual) because I adjure you by iao / sabaoth and adonai pat-
RAXILYTRA BOURREPHAOMI ASSALKE AIDOUNAX SESENGEN (formula) BALIABA
1490 ERECHCHARNOI ABERIDOUMA SALBACHTHI EISERSE / RATHO EISERDA OMI SIS-
IPHNA SISAEDOUBE ACHCHARITONE ABERIPHNOUBA IABAL DENATHI ITHROU-
1495 phi. Send up the phantoms of these dead to her NN / whose mother is NN, so that
they may perform the NN deed” (add the usual).
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
henorake! von Dodona und das Totcnorakel bei Ephyra,” Antike Kurnt , Beiheft 1 (1963) *. 35—55; Rur-
kcrt, Griechische Religion 185—86.
192. The name refers to an old underworld god who had an incubation oracle at Oropos. See
R. Herzog, “Amphiaraos,” RAC 1 (1950) : 396, with further literature.
193. For this epithet of Artemis and Dcmeter, sec Jessen, “Ariste,” PRE 2 (1895) : 876.
194. These dactylic hexameters also form the reconstructed Hymn 26, for which sec Preisendanz,
vol. II, p. 264. The reconstruction is even more extensive than usual, for in places only faint vestiges of
verse remain. [E.N.O.]
195. Aiakos was one of the judges of the underworld, along with Minos and Rhadamanthys. See
Plato, Apol. 41a; Gorg\ 523c, and W. Schmid, “Aiakos,” PRE 1 (1893) : 923— 26.
196. On Anubis with the key, see S. Morenz, “Anubis mit dem Schlusscl,” in his Religion und
Geschichte des Alien Agypten (Koln and Wien: Bohlau, 1975) 510-20. [R.K.R.]
197. These lines, which contain vestiges of dactylic hexameters, have been arranged in an awkward
verse pattern and accepted as the reconstructed Hymn 27; see Preisendanz, vol. II, p. 264. Nonetheless,
die translation is prose because the lines have no more of a metrical pattern than many other passages
scattered through these documents. [E.N.O. j
198. Isis aroused desire within the dead Osiris and by him conceived Horns, [ R.K.R.]
PGM IV. 1496-1595
67
PGM TV. 1496-1595
* Love spell of attraction over myrrh which is offered: While offering it over
coals, recite the spell.
Spell :
“You are Myrrh, the bitter, the difficult, who reconciles / combatants, who sears 1500
and who forces those to love who do not acknowledge Eros. Everyone calls you
Myrrh, but I call you Flesh-eater and / Inflamer of the heart. I am not sending you 1505
to far-off Arabia; I am not sending you to Babylon, but I am sending you to her
NN, whose mother is NN, so that you may serve me on the mission to her, so
that / you may attract her to me. If she is sitting , 199 let her not keep sitting; if she is 1510
chatting with someone, let her not keep chatting; if she is gazing at someone, let
her not keep gazing; if she is going to someone, let her not keep going; if she is
strolling about, let her not / keep strolling; if she is drinking, let her not keep 1515
drinking; if she is eating, let her not keep eating; if she is kissing someone, let her
not keep kissing him; if she is enjoying some pleasure, let her not keep enjoying it;
if she is sleeping, let her not keep sleeping. Rather, let her hold me / NN alone in 1520
her mind; let her desire me alone; let her love me alone; let her do all my wishes.
Do not enter through her eyes or through her side or through her nails / or even 1525
through her navel or through her frame, but rather through her ‘soul.’ And remain
in her heart and burn her guts, her breast, her liver, / her breath, her bones, her 1530
marrow, until she comes to me NN, loving me, and until she fulfills all my wishes,
because I adjure you, Myrrh, by the three names , 200 / ANOCHO 201 arras ax tro, 1535
and by the more coercive and stronger names kormeioth iao sabaoth adonai,
so that you may carry out my / orders. Myrrh. As I burn you up and you are po- 1540
tent, so bum the brain of her, NN, whom I love. Inflame her and turn her guts in-
side out, / suck out her blood drop by drop, until she comes to me, NN, whose 1545
mother is NN. I adjure you by the marparkourith nasaari naiemare pai-
pari / nekouri. I throw you into the burning fire and adjure you by the almighty 1550
god who lives forever: Having adjured you, I now also adjure you, / ADONAI bar- 1555
bar iao zagoure harsamosi alaous and salaos. I adjure you who strength-
ened man for life: Hear, hear, / great god, o Adonaios, ethyia, self-gendering, 1560
everlasting god, eioe iao aio aio phneos sphintes arbathiao iao iae ioa /
ai, who arc ouer 202 gonthiaor rarael 203 abra bracha soroormerphergar 1565
marbaphriouirigx iao sabaoth maskelli / maskello (the formula) AMON- 1570
SOE ANOCH RIGCH PHNOUKENTABAOTH SOUSAE PHINPHESECH MAPHI / BAR 1575
ANOURIN IBANAOTH AROUER CHNOUPH ANOCH BATHI OUCH IARBAS BABAUBAR
ELOAI; attract for me her NN, whose mother is NN, to me / NN, whose mother is 1580
NN, on the very day, on this night, at this very hour, mouloth phophith phtho-
ITH phthoyth pen ion. I call upon you also who hold / the fire, phthan anoch; 1585
give heed to me, O one, only-begotten, manebia baibai chyriroou thadein (’
ADONAI EROU NOUNI / MIOONCH CHOUTIAI MARMARAUOTH. Attract her, NN, 1590
whose mother is NN, to me NN, whose mother is NN, now, now; immediately,
immediately; quickly, quickly.”
And sav also the spell for all / occasions. 1595
Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
199. For parallels to this passage, cf. P. Smither, “A Coptic Love-Charm,” JEA 25 (1939) : 175—76.
200. On this passage, see C. Bonner, ‘‘Liturgical Fragments on Gnostic Amulets,” ITTR 25
(1932) : 362-67; idem, “The Transcendency of Divine Attributes,” ibid. 37 (1944) : 338-39.
201. This means in Egyptian “I am great.” [R.K.R.] Cf. PGM I. 149.
202. ouer corresponds to Egyptian wr, “great.” [R.K.R.]
203. rarael occurs only here; perhaps Raphael should be read. [E.N.O. |
68
PGM IV. 1596-1715
PGM IV. 1596-1715
*This is the consecration for all purposes: Spell to Helios: “I invoke you, the
1600 greatest god, eternal lord, world ruler, / who are over the world and under the
world, mighty ruler of the sea, rising at dawn, shining from the east for the whole
1605 world, / setting in the west. Come to me, thou who riscst from the four winds,
joyous 204 Agathos Daimon, for whom heaven has become the processional way. I
1610 call upon your holy / and great and hidden names which you rejoice to hear. The
earth flourished when you shone forth, and the plants became fruitful when you
1615 laughed; the animals begat their young / when you permitted. Give glory and honor
and favor and fortune and power to this, NN, stone which I consecrate 205 today (or
1620 to die / phylactery being consecrated) for NN. 206 I invoke you, the greatest in
1625 heaven, Ei lanchych akarEn bal misthren marta / mathath lailam mou-
SOUTHI S1ETHO BATHABATHI IATMON ALEI IABATH ABAOTH SABAOTH ADONAI, the
1630 great god, orsenophre orgeates / tothornatEsa 207 krithi biothi iadmo
IATMOMI METHIEI 208 LONCHOO AKARE BAL MINTHRE BANE BAl(N)CHCHYCHCH
1635 OUPHR1 NOTHEOUSI THRAI / ARSIOUTH ERONERTHER, die shining Helios, giving
light throughout the whole world. You are the great Serpent, leader of all 209 the
1640 gods, who control the beginning / of Egypt and the end of the whole inhabited
world, who mate in the ocean, psoi phnouthi ninther . 210 You are he who be-
1645 comes / visible each day and sets in the nordiwest of heaven, and rises in the south-
east. 2 " In the 1st hour you have the form of a cat; your name is pharakouneth.
1650 / Give glory and favor to this phylactery. In die 2nd hour you have the form of a
dog; your name is souphi. Give strength and honor to this phylactery, [or] to this
1655 stone, / and to NN. In the 3rd hour you have the form of a serpent; your name is
amekranebecheo thoyth. Give honor to the god NN. In the 4th hour you have
1660 the form of a scarab; your name is / senthenips. Mightily strengthen this phylac-
tery in this night, for the work for which it is consecrated. In the 5th hour you have
1665 the form of a donkey; your name is / enphanchouph. Give strength and courage
and power to the god, NN. In the 6th hour you have die form of a lion; your name
1670 is BAi solbai, the ruler of time. Give / success to this phylactery and glorious
victory. In the 7th hour you have the form of a goat; your name is oumesthoth.
1675 Give sexual charm to this ring / (or to this phylactery, or to this engraving). In the
8th hour you have the form of a bull; your name is diatiphE, who becomes visible
1680 everywhere. Let all / things [done] by the use of this stone be accomplished. In the
9th hour you have the form of a falcon; your name is PHEOUS phoouth, the loms
1685 emerged from the abyss. 212 Give success / [and] good luck to his phylactery. In
the 10th hour you have the form of a baboon; your name is besbyki. In the 11th
204. “Joyous” can also mean “benevolent” or “lucky,” meanings appropriate and probably intended
here. In the writer’s mind the three were probably not distinguished. [M.S.]
205. Cf. on this point PGM IV. 2179 and n.
206. Or “for use in relation to NN.”
207. Reading (6) opyeaTgs t 6 &opvot7g<;. Both nouns seem unattested formations; perhaps the
former should be corrected to opytaorT)?, “participant in orgiastic rites,” which were often secret and
connected with Dionysos. (M.S.J
208. From El onward the words repeat in variations the formula with which the series begins.
209. Reading 7 t6lvt(dv for TOirrvn', with Reitzenstein, Poimandres 29. [M.S.]
210. This is equivalent to the Egyptian “the Agathodaimon, the god (of) the gods.” [R.K.R.j Cf.
PGM III. 144-45.
211. On the forms of the sun god, see PGM II. 104 and nn.
212. On the lotus flower, sec PGM IV. 1111; PDM xiv. 45; and Morenz, Egyptian Religion 179-80.
[R.K.R.j
PGM IV. 1716-1870
69
hour you have the form of an ibis; your name is / mou roph . 213 Protect this great
phylactery for lucky [use] by NN, from this present day for all time. In the 12th
hour you have the form of a crocodile; your name / is aerthoe. You who have set
at evening as an old man, 214 who are over the world and [under] the world, mighty
ruler of the sea, hear my voice in this present day, / in this night, in these holy
hours, and let [all things done] by this stone [or] for this phylactery, be brought to
fulfilment, and especially NN matter for which I consecrate it. Please, / lord
KMEPH LOUTHEOUTH ORPHOICHE ORTILIBECHOUCH IERCHE ROUM IPERITAO
yai. I conjure earth and heaven and light and darkness and the / great god who
created all, sarousin, you, Agathon Daimonion the helper, to accomplish for me
everything [done] by the use of this ring or [stone].”
When / you complete [the consecration], say, “The one Zeus is Sarapis.” 2 ' 5
*Tr.: Morton Smith.
PGM TV. 1716—1870
* Sword 216 of Dardanos : 217 Bite which is called “sword,” which has no equal be-
cause of its power, for it immediately bends and attracts the soul 218 of whomever
you wish. / As you say the spell, also say: “I am bending to my will the soul of him
NN.” 2 ' 9
Take a magnetic stone which is breathing and engrave Aphrodite sitting astride
Psyche 220 / and with her left hand holding on her hair bound in curls. And above
her head: “achmage rarpepsei”; and below / Aphrodite and Psyche engrave Eros
standing on the vault of heaven, holding a blazing torch and burning Psyche. 221
And below Eros these / names: “achapa adonaie basma charako iakob iao e
pharpharei.” On the other side of the stone engrave Psyche and Eros embrac-
ing / one another and beneath Eros’ feet these letters: “ssssssss,” and beneath
Psyche’s feet: “eeeeeeee.” Use the stone, when it has been engraved and conse-
213. Here, and again below after the twelfth hour, the prayer for a gift to the phylactery or stone has
presumably been skipped by a copyist.
214. This is a reference to Atum, the form of the sun god at setting. Sec Bonnet, RARG 7 31.
[R.K.R.]
215. On this formula, see O. Wcinreich, Neue Urkunden zur Sarapisreligion (Tubingen: Mohr, Sie-
beck, 1919; reprinted in his Ausgewdhlte Schriften I [Amsterdam: Griiner, 1969] 410—42); Nilsson,
GGR II, 574; W. Hombostel, Sarapis. Studien zur 0 berlieferungsgeschichte und Wandlungen der Gestalt
ernes Gottes , EPRO 32 (Leiden: Brill, 1973) 353, n. 2; 396.
216. The designation “sword” apparently serves as a kind of title for certain types of formulas, here
presumably the formula in 1. 1813. See K. Preisendanz, “Xiphos,” Roschcr 6 (1924—37) 526—28;
Nock, Essays I, 190. The classical work of this kind is die so-called Sword of Moses, for which see
M. Gaster, Studies and Texts in Folklore, Magic , Medieval Romance, Hebrew Apocrypha and Samaritan Ar-
chaeology I (London: Maggs, 1925) 288-337. See also PGM IV. 1813 and n.
217. Dardanos was believed to have founded the mysteries of Samothrakc. Sec A. Hermann, “Dar-
danus RAC 3 (1957) : 593-94.
218. Since the operator does not want spiritual love, 4 ,V XV here is probably die female pudenda.
Against this interpretation is rr/r i frvxv v tow 8eiua (!. 1721), but since the rest of the spell is concerned
with attracting a woman, we should probably emend here and read -r% dsiva. [E.N.O.]
219. It is not clear whether this spell concerns a male or a female lover. Cf. 11. 1720, 1807, 1828-29.
220. The best treatment of this image is that by R. Mouterde, Le Glaive de Dardanos. Objets et inscrip-
tions magiques de Syne , Melanges de ITJniversite Saint-Joseph 15/3 (Beirut: Imprimeric Cathoiiquc, 1930)
53-64. See also R. Reitzenstein, “Noch einmal Eros und Psyche,” ARW 28 (1930) :42— 87; A. Rumpf,
“Eros (Eroten) II. in der Kunst,” RAC 6 (1966) : 312-42, csp. 330-31.
221. For this theme and literature, see R. Helm, “Psyche,” PRE 23 (1959) : 1434-38; S. Binder and
R. Mcrkcibach, Amor und Psyche (Darmstadt: Wisscnschafdiche Buchgesellschaft, 1968) csp. 433-34.
Sec also PGM XII. 20.
1690
1695
1700
1705
1710
1715
1720
1725
1730
1735
1740
1745
70 PGM IV. 1716-1870
crated, / like this: put it under your tongue and turn it to what you wish and say
this spell :
“I 222 call upon you, author of all creation, who spread your own wings over the
1750 whole / world, you, the unapproachable and unmeasurable who breathe into every
1755 soul life-giving / reasoning, who fitted all things together by your power, firstborn,
founder of the universe, golden-winged, whose light is darkness, who shroud rea-
1760 sonable / thoughts and breathe forth dark frenzy, clandestine one who secretly in-
1765 habit every soul. You engender an unseen fire / as you carry off every living thing
without growing weary of torturing it, rather having with pleasure delighted in
1770 pain 223 from the time when die world came into being. You also come / and bring
pain, who are sometimes reasonable, sometimes irrational, because of whom men
1775 dare beyond what is fitting and take refuge in your light which is darkness. / Most
headstrong, lawless, implacable, inexorable, invisible, bodiless, generator of frenzy,
1780 archer, torch-carrier, master of all living / sensation and of everydiing clandestine,
dispenser of forgetfulness, creator of silence, through whom the light and to whom
1785 the light travels, infantile when you have been engendered within / the heart, wisest
when you have succeeded; I call upon you, unmoved by prayer, by your great name:
1790 AZARACHTHARAZA 224 LATHA / LATHAL 225 Y Y Y LATHAI ATHALLALAPH IOIOIO AI
1795 Ai ai ouerieu oiai legeta RAMAi ama ratagel , 226 first-shining, night- /shining,
night rejoicing, night-engendering, witness, erekisithphe 227 araracharara
1800 ephthisikere 228 iabezebyth io, you in the depth , 229 BERIAMBO / BERIAMBEBO,
you in the sea, mermergou, clandestine and wisest, achapa adonaie basma cha-
1805 RAKO IAKOB IAO CHAROUER AROUER LAIJLAM / SEMESILAM SOUMARTA MARBA
karba menaboth EiiA. Turn the ‘soul’ of her NN to me NN, so that she may love
me, so that she may feel passion for me, so that she may give me what is in her
1810 power . 230 / Let her say to me what is in her soul because I have called upon your
great name.”
1815 And on a golden leaf inscribe this sword : 231 “One 232 thouriel / michael
222. The hymn to Eros has been called “notably elegant and literary” (Nock, Essays I, 183). Cf. the
hymn to Eros among the Orphic Hymns (no. 58). Sec Binder and Mcrkelbach, Amor and Psyche 150,
386-87.
223. The words o&vinrjpa repxpsi make little sense, esp. without a verbal form in the clause. Because
there are traces of poetic language here, we should perhaps read odvvrj pa repeat;, and this is what the
translation renders. [E.N.O.]
224. An imperfect palindrome.
225. The spacing of this vox magica has been arranged to show the palindrome.
226. Again, the spacing has been arranged to show the palindrome.
227. Again, the vox magica has been arranged to show' the palindrome.
228. This often attested vox magica can be read as Greek (fihaiKTjpe ((ptHoi, ki jp), perhaps “destroy-
ing evil demons” (cf. <pdurr)va)p, (pdaripppoTos, ipihcruppiov). [W.B.] See also R. Mcrkelbach, “<J>©I-
SIKHPE,” ZPE 47 (1982) : 172, commenting esp. on PGM II. 100.
229. Here, pvfitE, “you in die deep,” as well as TreArFyie, “you in the sea” (1. 800), and xpvtpte xai
irpscrfivTaTs, “clandestine and wisest” (It. 1801-2) arc recognizable Greek words, inserted into this
scries of magical palindromes. Cf. the similar formulas on a lead piece, P. Rein. II. 88, U. 17-20. Sec
P. CoUart, Les Papyrus Theodore Reinach, vol. II, BIEAO 39 (1940) : 29-32. j R.D.K.J Cf. also the figure
of Bythos in Valentinian gnosticism.
230. This means “power to give”; lit., “what is in her hands.”
231. See also on 1. 1717, above. This “sword” or magical formula may be so named because the
words to be written on the gold lamella w’ere to be engraved in the shape of, or enclosed by, a “sword.”
For a magical gold leaf with a sword, sec the facsimile in S. Reinach and E. Babelon, “Recherches arch-
cologiques en Tunisie (1883-1884),” Bulletin Archeologique 1886, p. 57. [R.D.K.j
232. For a discussion of this monotheistic formula, see Bonner, SMA 175 - 76; cf. H. D. Betz, Exe-
getisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament I (1978) : 969- 71, s.v. “el?.”
PGM IV. 1872-1927
71
GABRIEL O URIEL MISAEL irrael ISTRAEL: 233 May it be a propitious day for this
name and for me who know it and am wearing it. I summon the immortal / and
infallible strength of God. Grant me the submission of every soul for which I have
called upon you."'' Give the leaf to a partridge to gulp down 234 / and kill it. Then
pick it up and wear it around your neck after inserting into the strip the herb called
“boy love.”
The burnt offering / which endows Eros and the whole procedure with soul is
this: manna, 4 drams; storax, 4 drams; opium, 4 drams; myrrh, [4 drams;] frankin-
cense, saffron, bdella, / one-half dram each. Mix in rich dried fig and blend every-
thing in equal parts with fragrant wine, and use it for the performance. In the per-
formance first make a burnt offering and / use it in this way. 235
And there is also a rite for acquiring mi assistant f 6 who is made out of wood
from a mulberry tree. He is made as a winged Eros wearing a cloak, with his right
foot lifted / for a stride and with a hollow back. Into the hollow put a gold leaf
after writing with a cold- forged copper stylus so-and-so’s name [and]: “marsa-
boutarthe 237 — be my / assistant and supporter and sender of dreams”
Go late at night to the house [of die woman] you want, knock on her door / with
the Eros and say: “Lo, she NN resides here; wherefore stand beside her and, after
assuming the likeness of the god or daimon whom she worships, say what I pro-
pose.” And go to your / home, set the table, spread a pure linen cloth, and seasonal
flowers, and set the figure upon it. Then make a burnt offering to it and continu-
ously say the / spell of invocation. And send him, and he will act without fail. And
whenever you bend her to your will with the stone, on that night it sends / dreams,
for on a different night it is busy with different matters. 238
*Tr.:E.N. O’Neil.
PGM IV. 1872-1927
*. . . instruct no one, for it is very powerful and unsurpassable, effective for every-
one / on the same day, absolutely binding, exceedingly powerful. And it is: Take 4
ounces of wax, 8 ounces of fruit from the chaste-tree, 4 drams of manna. Pound
each of these fine / separately and mix with pitch and wax, and fashion a dog eight
fingers long with its mouth open. And you are to place in the mouth of the dog / a
bone from the head of a man who has died violently, and inscribe on the sides of
the dog these characters: XZOH B Y X V Y and you are to place the dog on a
tripod. And have the dog raising its right paw. And write on the strip of papyrus
these / names and what you wish: “iao asto iophe,” and / you are to place the
strip of papyrus on the tripod and on top of the strip you are to place the dog
and / say these names many times. And so, after you have spoken the spell, the dog
233. For a discussion of these peculiar variants of the name of Israel, see R. Ganschinictz, “Israel,”
PRE 9 (1939) : 2234; Scholar), Jewish Gnosticism 95. Of. PGM IV. 3034: Osrael; XXXVI, 259: Astrael.
234. Cf. Sword of Moses 324 n. 70 (see n. 216, above) for a parade!: a silver lamella is given to a cock
to swallow, and the cock is then killed. [R.D.K.]
235. The excessive use of and xpr/ow is strange. The translation of this sentence is tentative and
little more than a paraphrase. [E.N.O. j Cf. the following section and also PGM I. 38; XII. 284.
236. The translation is based on the emended Greek in Prciscndanz, but it differs from the German
translation (“Erfolg hat aber auch tin Bcisitzer . . .”).
237. The translation tries to make sense of what appears to be a corrupt Greek text; it differs from
the German translation (“. . . den Namen eincs Reliebigcn gcschrieben hast: ‘Marsaboutarthe, werde
mir . . .’”). See the apparatus ad loc.
238. Tire Greek is ambiguous at this point. Cf. Prcisendanz’s translation: “Dcnn in jedcr Nacht be-
schiiftigt er sich mit anderen.”
1820
1825
1830
1835
1840
1845
1850
1855
1860
1865
1870
1875
1880
1885
1890
1895
1900
72
PGM IV. 1928-2005
hisses [or barks], and if it hisses, she is not coming. 239 Therefore address the spell to
1905 it again, / and if it barks, it is attracting her. Then open the door, and you will find
her whom you wish at your doors. Let a censer stand beside the dog, and let fran-
1910 kincensc be placed upon it / as you say the spell.
Spell : “Barking dog, I adjure you, Kerberos, by those who have hanged them-
1915 selves, by the dead, by those who have died violently: / attract to me her, NN,
whose mother is NN. I adjure you, Kerberos, by the holy head of the infernal gods.
1920 Attract to me her, NN, whose mother is NN, zouch / zouki to pary yphe-
barmo enor sekemi KRIOUDASEPHE TRiBEPSi: attract to me her, NN, whose
mother is NN, to me, NN, immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly.”
1925 And you are also to say / the spell for all occasions. But you are to do these things
in a level, pure place.
*Tr.:E. N. O’Neil.
PGM IV. 1928-2005
1930 * Spell of Attraction of King Pitys over any skull cup. His / prayer of petition to
Helios : Stand facing the east and speak thus:
1935 “I call upon you, lord Helios, and your holy angels on / this day, in this very
hour: Preserve me, NN, for I am thenor, and you are holy angels, guardians of
1940 the ardimalecha. And ororo / misrjen nepho adonai auebothi abatharai
THOBEUA SOULMAI SOULMAITH ROUTREROUTEN OPHREOPHRI OLCHAMAOTH
1945 OUTE SOUTEATH MONTRO ELAT / CHOUMIOI LATHOTH OTHETH, I beg you, lord
1950 Helios, hear me NN and grant me power / over the spirit of this man who died a
violent death, from whose tent I hold [this], so that I may keep him with me, [NN]
as helper and avenger for whatever business I crave from him.”
1955 / At sunset the same man’s prayer to Helios :
“Borne 240 on the breezes of the wandVing winds,
Golden-haired Helios, who wield the flame’s
Unresting fire, who turn in lofty paths
1960 Around the great pole, / who create all things
Yourself which you again reduce to nothing.
From you, indeed, come elements which are
Arranged to suit your laws which nourish all
The world with its four yearly turning points.
Hear, blessed one, I call you who rule heav’n
And earth and Chaos and Hades, where dwell /
1965 Daimons of men who once gazed on the light.
And even now I beg you, blessed one,
Unfailing one, the master of the world,
If you go to the depths of earth and reach
The regions of the dead, this daimon send
To move at midnight hours perforce at your
1970 Commands, / from whose tent I hold this. And let
239. As the text stands, it makes no sense. We should probably follow the suggestion of Preisendanz,
who inserts “or he barks’'’ (“oder bellt”), and add to the Greek some such phrase as ij vkaKrel which
may have fallen out by haplographv. For similar alternative conditions, cf. PGM IV. 131-37; VII.
613-16. [E.N.O.]
240. The dactylic hexameters arc part of the reconstructed Hymn 4 (Preisendanz, vol. II, pp. 239-
40): w. 1-17, 20-22, IS, 25, 23-24. For other versions and seasons of Hymn 4, sec PGM I. 315-27;
IV. 436-61; VIII. 74-81. (E.N.O-l
PGM IV. 2006-2125
73
Him tell to me (NN) whatever my mind designs,
And let him tell me fully and with truth.
Let him be gentle, gracious, let him think
No thoughts opposed to me. And may you not
Be angry at my sacred chants. / But guard
That my whole body come to light intact;
Let him (NN) reveal to me the what and whence.
Whereby he now can render me his service
And at what time he serves as my assistant, /
For you yourself gave these for men to learn, lord.
Because I call upon your four-part name:
CHTHETHO NI LAI LAM LAO ZOUCHE PIPTOE.
I call upon your name, / Horus, 241 which is
In number equal to the Moirai’s names:
ACHAI PHOTHOTHO AIE IAE At IAE AIE
iao thotho phiacha (36 letters). 242
Be gracious unto me, O primal god,
O father of the world, self-gendered one.
/ After burning armara 243 and uncut frankincense, go home.
Enquiry. 244 Ivy with 13 leaves. Begin from the left side and write on diem one
by one with myrrh, and after putting on the wreath / say over them the same
names. And over the skull cup place the same writing on the forehead with the
proper words: “soitherchalban ophrouror erekisithphe (formula) 245 /
iabe zebyth legemas thmestas mesmyra bauanechthen kai lophoto bre-
LAX HARCHENTECHTHA APSOIER CHALBAN.”
And the ink : Serpent’s blood / and the soot of a goldsmith.
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM IV. 2006-2125
* Pays’ spell of attraction: 246 Pitys to King Ostanes: greetings. Since you write to
me on each occasion about the enquiry of skull cups, I have deemed it necessary to
send you this process / as one which is worthy of admiration and able to please you
greatly. And subsequently I will submit to you the process, and finally the black ink
will be revealed.
Take the hide of an ass 247 and, after drying it / in shade, inscribe on it the figure
which will be revealed and inscribe this spell in a circle: “aamasi nouthi aphthe-
CHENBOCH POUPAIEICHNERI TA LOUTHIANI SERANOMEGRENTI El BIL / LONOU-
CHICH EITA PHOR CHORTOMNOUTHI THRACH PHIBOBI ANTERO PHOCHOR-
THAROCH EBOCH LESANOUACH PHEOROBIS TRAION KOBI INOUNIA SAPHOBI
CHIMNOUTHI ASRO / CHNOUPHNEN PHARMI BOLCHOSETH EPHOUKTERO AB-
DIDANPITAAU EAE BOL SACHY ACHCHERIMA EMINTO ROORIA EN AMOUN AK-
REMPHTHO OUTRAUNEIL / LABOCH PHERACHI AMENBOL BECU OSTAOUA BEL-
241. Horus is identified with Helios; see li. 988—89 below.
242. That is, thirty-six Greek letters.
243. For this material, see PGM IV. 1294 and n.
244. That is, the inquiry of the spirit of the dead man (I. 1950). See PGM IV. 2140—41; 2005—7.
245. Referring to the palindrome cited also in PGM IV. 1797-99.
246. ayajyr) is a general term which sometimes, as here, indicates a spell whose primary purpose is
not to “attract” for sexual purposes. The same noun, without a qualifying word, is the title of a “Love
spell of attraction” Fora parallel to the usage of this passage , cf., e.g., PGM IV. 2441. (F.N.O.]
247. The ass is associated with Scth/Tvphon. See PGM IV. 259-60 and n.
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
74
PGM IV. 2006-2125
tho; I adjure you, dead spirit, by the powerful and inexorable god and by his holy
2035 names, to stand beside me in the / coming night in whatever form you used to
have, and inform me whether you have the power to perform the NN deed; imme-
diately, immediately; quickly, quickly!”
Then go quickly to where [someone] lies buried or where something has been
2040 discarded, if you do [not] have a buried body; / spread the hide under him at about
sunset. Return [home], and he will actually be present and will stand beside you on
2045 that night. And he describes to you how he died, but first he tells you if / he has the
power to do anything or to perform any service.
And take a leaf of flax and with the black ink which will be revealed to you, paint
on it the figure of the goddess who will be revealed to you, and paint in a circle this
2050 spell (and place on his head / the leaf which has been spread out and wreathe him
with black ivy, and he will actually stand beside you through the night in dreams,
and he will ask you, saying, “Order whatever you wish, and I do it”): “phoubel
2055 TAUTHY ALDE MINOOURITHI / SENECHO CHELETHICHITIATH MOU CHO ARIANTA
NARACHI MASKELLI (formula) AEBITHO ACHAIL CHAOSOUNISOU SOUNIARTE-
2060 NOPH ARCHEREPHTHOUMI / BOLPHAI AROCHO ABMENTHO PHORPHORBA
chnouchiochoime; I adjure [you], dead spirit, by the Destiny of Destinies , 248 to
2065 come to me, NN, on this day, on this night, and / agree to the act of service for me.
And if you don’t, expect other chastisements.”
And when he agrees, rise up immediately and take a roll of hieratic papyrus and
write on it with the black ink which will be revealed to you the figure which will be
2070 revealed to you , 249 / and write in a circle this spell and offer it to him, and straight-
way he will attract, even if he is unmanageable, immediately without delaying a
single day.
But often there will be no need for the leaf of flax, but in the second spell 250 the
2075 papyrus / sheet 251 is to be placed there after you have commanded the act of service
for you. He attracts and causes one to be ill, and he sends dreams and restrains, and
he obtains revelations by dreams as well. These are the things which this single spell
2080 accomplishes. Depending on what you are performing , 252 / alter only the passage
with the usual items . 253 Most of the magicians, who carried their instruments 254
with them, even put them aside and used him as an assistant. And they accom-
2085 plished the preceding things with all dispatch. / For [the spell] is free of excessive
verbiage, immediately carrying out as it does the preceding things with all ease.
Spell : “I say to you, chthonic daimon, for whom the magical material of this
2090 female (of this male) has been embodied on / this night: proceed to where this fe-
male (or this male) resides and bring her to me NN either during the middle of the
night or quickly. Perform the NN deed because the holy god osiris icmephi
248. See on this concept PGM III. 120 and n.
249. The figure is not extant. See Preisendanz, apparatus ad loc.
250. This refers to a variant in another spell available to the author but not included in die PGM.
251. Preisendanz suggests, in the apparatus ad loc., that this sheet refers to the hide of the ass men-
tioned in IV. 2014.
252. Preisendanz follows the papyrus and reads i rpris to, to rrpacru-sts, but this is surely impossible
Greek. The easiest change is t rpo? tovto 5 rrpdrr<TEts, but the sense seems to require something tike
5 rpos 6 tl ttots Trpmrcrsi?, “for whatever you do,” or “depending on vvhat(ever) you do,” [E.N.O.]
253. This is apparently a reference to the formulas given as kolvov, KOtva found elsewhere in the
PGM.
254. Probably this is a reference to instruments such as were found in Pergamon. Sec R. Wunsch,
Antikes Zaubergerdt am Pergamon , jahrbuch des Kaiserlich Deutscben Archdologischen Institute . , Ergdn-
zungsbeft 6 (Berlin: Reimer, 1905).
PGM IV. 2125-39
75
sro 255 wishes and commands it of you. Fulfill, daimon, what / is written here. And
after you have performed it, I will pay you a sacrifice. But if you delay, I will inflict
on you chastisements which you cannot endure. And perform for me the NN deed,
immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly.”
The black ink of the procedure l is this : The hide is inscribed with blood of an
ass 256 from the heart of a sacrificial victim, with which is mixed the soot of a cop-
persmith. But the leaf of flax is inscribed with falcon’s blood, with which is mixed
the soot of a goldsmith. / But the leaf of the hieratic papyrus is inscr ibed with eel’s
blood, with which acacia is mixed.
Do these things in this manner and, once you have performed them, you may
know with what a marvelous nature this process is endowed, since in all ease / it
considers the implements as the assistant. But guard yourself with whatever protec-
tion you want.
And this is the figure 2 * 7 written on the hide : A lion- faced form of a man wearing
a sash, holding in his right hand a staff, and on it let there be a serpent. / And
around all his left hand let an asp be entwined, and from the mouth of the lion let
fire breathe forth.
The figure written onto the leaf of flax is this: Hckate 258 with three heads and six
hands, holding / torches in her hands, on the right sides of her face having the head
of a cow; and on the left sides the head of a dog; and in the middle the head of a
maiden with sandals bound on her feet.
And inscribed on the piece of papyrus: Osiris clothed / as the Egyptians show
him . 259
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM TV. 2125-39
* A restraining seal for skulls that are not satisfactory [for use in divination], and
also to prevent [them] from speaking or doing anything whatever of this [sort ]: 260
Seal the mouth of the skull with dirt from the doors of [a temple] of Osiris / and
from a mound [covering] graves. Taking iron from a leg fetter, work it cold and
make a ring on which have a headless lion engraved. Let him have, instead of his
head, a crown of Isis, and let him trample with his feet / a skeleton (the right foot
should trample the skull of the skeleton). In the middle of these should be an owl-
eyed cat with its paw on a gorgoris head; in a circle around [all of them?], these
names: iador inba nichaioplex brith.
* Tr. : Morton Smi th .
255. The names come from the Egyptian and mean “Osiris, Good Daimon, great prince” (or
“ram”). [R.K.R.]
256. For the application, see PGM IV. 2015, 2220. On the blood of the ass, see D. Wortmann, “Das
Blut des Seth,” ZPE 2 (1968) : 227—30; also Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside etOsiride 276, commenting on
De Is. et Os. 6, 353B.
257. For this figure, see Dieterich, Abraxas 53; Nilsson, GGR II, 499-501 with Tafel V, 2a and 2b.
258. For pictures of Hckate triformis on gemstones, sec Bonner, SMA^ nos. 64, 66; cf. no. 156;
Delattc and Derchain, Les Intailles 189, nos. 252, 253, *254, *254 (bis); Mouterde, Glaive 67—71 (see
above, n. 220).
259. This prescription is remarkable because it seems to have been made by a magician who was nor
an Egyptian. The Egyptian Osiris is presented here in his capacity’ as god of the dead. For his ability' to
send demons and spirits of the dead, cf. Pritchard, ANET 16, “The Contending of Horus and Seth,”
Faulkner, Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts I, spell 335, pt. II. [R.K.R.]
260. Reading tovtoj(l) with the papyrus, instead of Preisendanz's tovtoj{v).
2095
2100
2105
2110
2115
2120
2125
2130
2135
76
PGM IV. 2140-44
PGM IV. 2140—44
2140 *Pitys the Thessalian’s spell for questioning corpses : 261 On a flax leaf write
these things: “azel balemacho” (12 letters ). 262
Ink: [Made] from red ochre, burnt myrrh, juice of fresh wormwood, evergreen,
and flax. Write [on the leaf] and put it in the mouth [of the corpse],
*Tr.: W. C. Grcse.
PGM TV. 2145-2240
2145 * Divine assistance from three Homeric verses : 263
“After saying this, he drove the solid-hoofed horses through the ditch ; ” 264
“and men gasping out their lives amid the terrible slaughter .” 265
2150 / “and they washed off in the sea the sweat that covered them .” 266
If a runaway carries these verses inscribed on an iron lamella , 267 he will never be
2155 found. Likewise, attach the same lamella / to someone on the point of death, and
you will get an answer 263 to everything you ask him. Whenever anyone thinks he is
under a spell, let him pronounce the verses while sprinkling with sea water and . . .
2160 against enchantments. A contestant with the / tablet stays undefeated, just as also
a charioteer who carries the tablet along with a lodestone; and the same is true in
court; also, these arc the things for a gladiator to carry. Attach it to a criminal who
2165 has been executed, speak / the verses in his ear, and he will tell you everything you
wish. Insert the lamella into his wound, and you will have a great blessing with
regard to your superiors and masters and others as well, for you will have honor,
2170 / trust. It also keeps off daimons and wild animals. Everyone will fear you; in war
you will be invulnerable; when you ask you w ill receive; you will enjoy favor; your
life will change; and you will be loved by any woman or man you have contact
2175 with. / You will have honor, happiness; you will receive inheritances, have good
fortune, be unaffected by potions and poison; you will break spells and conquer
your encmies.
Here is the the formula to be spoken when you immerse the lamella . 269
261. See PGM IV. 1990 and n.
262. That is, in Greek letters.
263. In the papyrus these three verses from Homer are written in exceptionally large letters. Cf.
PGM IV. 470- 74; 821-24, where magical power is ascribed to the same verses. See the note on PGM
IV. 470.
264. Homer, II. 10. 564. In Homer, the referent of “he” is Odysseus.
265. Homer, II. 10. 521. The quotation includes only a portion of the Homeric sentence. “Men” is
the object of “saw'” in 1. 520, and it is a kinsman of the slaughtered Rhesus who “saw.” The text of II. 10.
521 here and at PGM IV. 822 differs slightly, though not so as to offset the sense of that of PGM IV. 472.
266. Homer, II. 10. 572. In Homer, the referent of “they” is Odysseus and Diomedes.
267. The use of iron lamellae (as opposed to those of lead, silver, gold, and tin) is comparatively rare
in magic (but cf. PGM VII. 382). See the discussion by A. M. Tupet, La Magic dans la poesie latinc
(Paris: Les belles lettres, 1976) 39-43. An iron lamella engraved with magical w'ords is housed in the
Louvre; see A. Dain, Inscriptions grecques du Musee du Louvre: Les textes inedits (Paris: Les belles lettres,
1933) 108, no. 205. [R.D.K.J
268. The Greek verb rendered “you will get an ansu'er to” could also mean “he will hear.” Perhaps
the former is the correct rendering, and the passage is expressive of the ancient notion that individuals
on the point of death have prophetic power (see, e.g., II. 16. 843—61, where the dying Patroclus proph-
esies the death of Hector; II. 22. 355—66, where die dying Hector does the same of Achilles; Sophocles,
Oed. Col. 605-28, 1370-96, 1516-55, where the aged Oedipus, his death approaching, delivers
prophecies; and Virgil, Am. 4. 607-29, where Dido utters a prophetic curse shortly before committing
suicide. [H.M.]
269. Immersing the lamella is part of the consecration; sec S. Eitrem, “Die magischen Gemmcn und
ihre Weihe,” SO 19 (1939) : 57-85.
PGM IV. 2145-2240
77
The formula: l “NN, leave the sweet light and also render me whatever service I
require of you whenever I call you (add the usual) because I conjure you by the
gods of the underworld goggylorygche ombroligmate 270 thoeryseris. /
Render me the sendee for which I summon you.” Speak this formula that invokes
all supernatural powers.
Consecrating the plaque : Go, I say, into a clean room. Set up a table, on which
you are to place a clean linen cloth and flowers of the season. / Then sacrifice a
white cock, placing beside it 7 cakes, 7 wafers, 7 lamps; pour a libation of milk,
honey, wine, and olive oil.
Here is the formula to be spoken when you consecrate the plaque: “Come to me!
You who are master above the earth and below the earth, / who look to the west
and the east and gaze upon the south and the north, O master of all, Aion of Aions!
You are the ruler of the universe, Ra, Pan, 271 (h)arpenchnoubi / brintate-
nophri briskylma arouzar bamesen kriphi niptoumi chmoumaophi
IA IOY IYO All OYO AEEIOYO BAUBO BAUBO PHORBA PHORBA OREOBAZAGRA
oyoieea er.” Speak too the formula that invokes Necessity: “maskelli (for-
mula) iarchtha echthaba choix iabouch iabOch,” and the one that / in-
vokes all supernatural powers.
So much for the ritual of consecration. 272 Here are the operations Jbr specific
purposes:
Tor an oracle : Write as follows on a bay leaf in myrrh mixed with blood from
someone who has died by violence: “abraa, you are the one who reveals all things
mariaphrax.” / Then put it under the lamella.
For wrecking chariots: Burn garlic and a snake’s slough as an offering, and write
on a tin plaque: 273 “neboutosoualeth beu erbeth pakerbeth and onouph;
overturn him, NN, and his 7 companions.” Bury the tablet for 3 days in the grave of
someone who died untimely; he will come to life for as long as it stays there.
For spells that restrain : Write on a scashell in the ink 274 mentioned below, add-
ing / Typhon’s blood. 275 Then you are to bury the shell in the tomb of someone
who died untimely, when the moon stands in opposition to the sun. What you are
to write is the 3 Homeric verses, 276 and the following: “io bolchoseth iakou-
biai io patathnax / erbeth io pakerbeth ” The lamella is to be carried, as in
the examples at the beginning.
For popularity spells and love spells: Write “myri myri nes machesnon” on a
gold tablet, after putting it under / the iron one for 3 days. When you remove it,
carry it, keeping yourself clean all the while.
For fetching spells. Burn roses and sumac as an offering; take myrtle leaves and
write on them in ink: “sthenepio arroriphrasis yyyy / mi fetch her, NN, for
him, NN.” Recite the formula 277 and put the magical substance under the lamella.
270. This and the preceding voces magicae can be translated and mean, “you with the round snout,”
and “you who lap rain.” [H.M.]
271. The interpretation of die god Pan as Aion and as god of the Alt is based on the assumed ety-
mology of the name (cf. also PGM XIII. 980: sp k<xL to tto.v. “One and the All”). See F. Brommcr,
“Pan fpRE.S 8 (1956) : 1005-6.
272. See above on PGM IV. 2186.
273. That is, the iron tablet that has been consecrated, not the tin plaque just described.
274. That is, the myrrh ink mentioned at the end of the spell.
275. For the blood of Seth/Typhon, see PGM IV. 2100 and n.
276. See for these verses PGM IV. 2145-51.
277. Presumably, this formula is the one previously mentioned (“that invokes all supernatural pow-
2180
2185
2190
2195
2200
2205
2210
2215
2220
2225
2230
78
PGM IV. 2241-2358
2240
2245
2250
2255
2260
2265
2270
You are to add some single-stemmed wormwood to the myrrh ink. Let the lamella
be worn on a cord; get it from the places where / the woolworkers have their shops.
*Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr.
PGM IV. 2241-2358
* Document to the waning moon . 278
Spell :
"Hail , 279 Holy Light, Ruler of Tartaros,
Who strike with rays; hail. Holy Beam, who whirl
Up out of darkness and subvert all things
With aimless plans. / I’ll call and may you hear
My holy words since awesome Destiny
Is ever subject to you. Thrice-bound goddess,
Set free yourself. Come, rage against him, NN.
For Klotho will spin out her threads for you.
Assent, O blessed one, ere I hold you
As hateful, ere I seize your / sword-armed fist , 280
And ere you grieve, O god in maiden form.
You’ll, willy-nilly, do the NN task
Because I know your lights in full detail,
And I am your priest of good offices, /
Your minister and fellow witness. Maid.
What must take place, this you cannot escape.
You’ll, willy-nilly, do the NN task.
I now adjure you by this potent night.
In which your light is last to fade away.
In which / a dog opens, closes not, its mouth.
In which die bar of Tartaros is opened,
In which forth rages Kerberos, armed with
A thunderbolt. Bestir yourself, Menc,
Who need the solar nurse, guard of the dead, /
You I implore. Maid, by your stranger beams , 281
You I implore , 282 O cunning, lofty, swift,
O crested one, who draw swords, valiant,
Healer, with forethought, far-famed, goading one.
Swift-footed, brave, crim/son. Darkness, Brimo,
Immortal, heedful, Persian, pastoral,
Alkyone, gold-crowned, the elder goddess.
Shining, sea-goddess, ghosdy, beautiful.
The one who shows, skiff-holder, aiming well,
ers”), 11. 2186, 2204—5. The “magical substance” is usually material taken from the person to be
“fetched.” See Glossary, s.v. “Material, magical.”
278. The correct reading here is AsAros atT70KpovuTLKi)v i rpo? XeAi'jnji'. [E.N.O.]
279. These iambic trimeters, many of which arc metrically faulty or even collapse almost completely,
have been adapted as the reconstructed Hymn 17; see Preisendanz, voi. II, pp. 250—53. The text is
frequently uncertain and die translation is tentative. [E.N.O.]
280. The magician claims later to have done so (1. 2328).
281. For (bust) t Avyi) read ^ettrqv avyrjv ; sec Preisendanz, vol. I], p. 251, apparatus ad loc.
282. The conclusion of the line is lost. Here a long list of what seem to be epithets, now mostly
corrupt, has been inserted. The translation usually follows the conjectures proposed by Heitsch, al-
though many are questionable.
PGM IV. 2241-2358 79
Self-gendered, wearing / headband, vigorous,
Leader of hosts, O goddess of Dodona,
Of Ida , 283 e’er with sorrows fresh, wolf-formed,
Denounced as infamous, destructive, quick.
Grim-eyed, shrill-screaming, Thasian, Mene,
0 Nethermost one, beam-embracer, savior.
World- wide, dog-shaped, / spinner of Fate, all -giver.
Long-lasting, glorious, helper, queen, bright,
Wide-aimer, vigorous, holy, benign,
Immortal, shrill- voiced, glossy- locked, in bloom,
Divine, with golden face, delighting / men,
Minoan, goddess of childbirth, Theban,
Long-suffering, astute, malevolent.
With rays for hair, shooter of arrows, maid;
I 284 truly know that you are full of guile
And arc deliverer from fear; as Hermes,
The Eider, chief of all magicians, I
Am Isis’ father . 285 Hear: eo phorra
BRIMO SACHMI NEBOUTO / SOUALETH.
For I have hidden this 286 magic symbol
Of yours, your sandal, and possess your key.
1 opened the bars of Kerberos, the guard
Of Tartaros, / and premature night I
Plunged in darkness. I whirl the wheel for you;
The cymbals I don’t touch . 287 Gaze at yourself:
Lo! As you see yourself, you’ll wonder at
The mirror, love charm of the Nile’s goddess , 288
Until you cast the dark light from your eyes.
What you must do, / this you must not escape.
You’ll, willy-nilly, do this task for me,
Mare, Kore, dragoness, lamp, lightning flash.
Star, lion, she-wolf, aeo Ee.
A sieve, an old utensil, is my symbol , 289
283. The papyrus reads stSea, which Wcsscly, whom Preisendanz follows, emends to This
epithet means “belonging to Ida,” a mountain range in Crete or Phrygia. Cf. PGM V. 455-56; LXX. 14,
and Betz, “Fragments,” 293 with n. 30; H. von Geisau, “Idaia,” KP 2 (1979) : 1337.
284. Here the spell that preceded the list of epithets is resumed. Some connective material may have
been lost. [M.S.]
285. The elder Hermes is the Egyptian Hermes Trismegistos (Thoth) who was thought to be older
than the Greek god. On Hcrmcs/Thoth as the father of Isis, see Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 3, 352A— B, and
12, 355F— 356A, and Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride 263. See also PGM IV. 99—101, where
Thoth is the father. On the topic, see also Reifzcnstcin, Poimandrcs 136 n. 4; Nock and Festugiere,
Hermes Trismegiste III, p. cxxvii. [R.K.R. |
286. Reading to for tovto. That the symbol was the sandal is shown by the later reference to it in 11.
2334—35. The “symbols” of the gods were thought not to be mere signs of them but objects and for-
mulas by which they could be controlled. fM.S.] See also Betz, “Fragments,” 291.
287. Reading {8')ovx and understanding the negative to refer to both verbs, as suggested by
L. Koenen. The magician threatens to strike: lie will not perform actions that would prevent the im-
pending eclipse. [M.S.j
288. Reading N£tX<o(t) ’I(o-)tSo<j x a P tv KcaoTnpioi ot). For at?pew with &v, see the Etymologicum
Gudianum , ed. Sturziits, 13. 20. [M.S.]
289. Perhaps “you” instead of “my” should be read (also 1. 2311). Cf. the similar list in PGM VII.
780-85. [M.S.]
2275
2280
2285
2290
2295
2300
80
PGM IV. 2241-2358
2305
2310
2315
2320
2325
2330
2335
2340
And one morsel of flesh, a piece / of coral.
Blood of a turtledove, hoof of a camel,
Hair of a virgin cow, the seed of Pan,
Fire from a sunbeam, colt’s foot, spindel tree.
Boy love, bow drill, a gray-eyed woman’s body
With legs outspread, a black sphinx’s / pierced vagina:
All of these are the symbol of my power.
The bond of all necessity will be
Sundered, and Helios will hide your tight
At noon, and Tethys will o’erflow the world , 290
Which you inhabit. Aion’s / quaking; heaven
Will be disturbed; Kronos, in terror at
Your pole 291 o’erpowered by force, has fled to Hades
As overseer of the dead below.
The Moirai throw away your endless thread,
Unless you check my magic’s winged shaft , 292 /
Swiftest to reach the mark. For to escape
The fate of my words is impossible:
Happen it must . 293 Don’t force yourself 294 to hear
The symbols forward and then in reverse
Again. You’ll, willy-nilly, do what’s needed.
Ere useless light becomes your fate, do what /
I say, O Maid, ruler of Tartaros.
I’ve bound your pole with Kronos’ chains, and with
Awesome compulsion I hold fast your thumb.
Tomorrow does not come unless my will
Is done. / To Hermes, leader of the gods.
You promised 295 to contribute to this rite.
Aye, in my power I hold you. Hear, you who
Watch and are watched. I look at you, you look
At me. Then, too, I’ll speak the sign to you:
Bronze sandal of her / who rules Tartaros,
Her fillet. Key, wand, iron wheel, black dog,
Her thrice-locked door, her burning hearth, her shadow.
Depth, fire, the governess of Tartaros,
Fearing the Furies, those prodigious daimons , 296 /
You’ve come? You’re here? Be wroth, O maid, at him,
NN, foe of hcav’n’s gods, of Helios-
Osiris 297 and of Isis, his bedmate.
290. Reading kKv^tki for kov<plct£i. Helios’ light is the moon’s because the moon shines with it
(see above). He will hide it in the south, because that is where the sun goes to hide in the winter. Tethys
is the goddess of the primordial waters. [M.S.]
291. Reading rrokov for crov vow with H. van Herwcrden, “De carminibus e papvris acgvptiacis
erutis et eruendis,” Mnemosyne , n.s. 16 (1888) : 342. |M.S.]
292. Understanding /xtryetTj? 77)9 ifi 7)9 as equivalent to the dative (emendation may not be neces-
sary), and reading dvayKarr(§)fjs ■ [M.S.j
293. Reading ijv Set ysvecrdeu for 6 Set yevEcrdai. [M.S.j
294. Reading <ra{v)TT)v with Preisendanz, ad. loc. [M.S.j
295. Reading evvevcra. for evevera*;. [M.S.J
296. Reading nominatives for accusatives. [M.S.j
297. Although the link between Helios and Osiris is possible through the connection with Sarapis,
PGM IV. 2373-2440
81
As I instruct you, hurl him to this ill
Because, Kore, I know your good and great /
Majestic names, by which heaVn is illumined.
And earth drinks dew and is pregnant; from these
The universe increases and declines;
EUPHORBA PHORBA PHORBOREOU PHORBA PHORBOR PHORBOR PHORBOR BOR-
BORPHA ERPHOR / PHORBAIO PHORBOR PHORBOR BOROPH PHORPHOR BOR
PHORBOR AO IOE PHORBORPHOR EUPHOR BOPHOR EUOIEO PHOTH IOPHOTH
IOPHOTH PHOTHIOPH AOOOTHO OAI IO EOOIO HAHAHA EE EE IOYY 060 OYYYY
aeeiouo / yyy mistress, Harken~techtha, 2ys who sits beside Lord Osiris, Michael,
Archangel of angels, the god who lights the way, perform for me.”
Protective charm of the procedure . . .
*Tr.: E. N. O'Neil. The translation is based on the edition in Preisendanz, but several emen-
dations by Morton Smith have been accepted (see the notes); sec his article “The Hymn to
the Moon, PGM IV 2242-2355,” Proceedings of the XVI International Congress of Papyrology,
ed. L. Koenen et al. (Chico, Cal.: Scholars Press, 1981) 643—54.
PGM IV. 2359-72
* Business spell: Take orange beeswax and / the juice of the aeria plant and of
ground ivy and mix them and fashion a figure of Hermes 299 having a hollow bot-
tom, grasping in his left hand a herald’s wand and in his right a small bag. Write on
hieratic papyrus these names, and you will see continuous business: / “chaiochen
outibilmemnouoth atrauich. Give income and business to this plase, because
Psentebeth 300 lives here.” Put the papyrus inside the figure and fill in the hole with
the same beeswax. Then deposit it in a wall, at an inconspicuous place, / and crown
him on the outside, and sacrifice to him a cock, and make a drink offering of Egyp-
tian wine, and light for him a lamp that is not colored red.
*Tr.: R. F. Hock."
PGM IV. 2373-2440
* Charm for acquiring business and for calling in customers 301 to a workshop or
house or wherever you put it. / By having it, you will become rich, you will be suc-
cessful. For Hermes made this for the wandering Isis . 302 The charm is marvelous
and is called “ the little beggar .”
Take beeswax that has not been heated, which is known as bee glue, and fashion /
a man having his right hand in the position of begging and having in his left a bag
and a staff. Let there be around the staff a coiled snake, and let him be dressed in a
girdle and standing on a sphere that has / a coiled snake, like Isis. Stand it up and
the older link between Osiris and Re may be of influence here. See A. PiankoflF, The Litany of Re (New
York: Bollingen, 1964) 19-21. [R.K.R.]
298. Harkentechtha is a male god (see Glossary s.v.); thus he is not to be addressed by “mistress,”
a title belonging to the moon goddess of the preceding hymn. See also PGM IV. 2004 and n.
299. Here Hermes is portrayed as the god of merchants and of commerce. See PGM V. 390-99.
300. This name means “the son of the female falcon.” Cf. Jacoby in Preisendanz, apparatus ad loc.,
who fails to recognize the female definite article, a fact that precludes the identification with Horns, the
falcon god. [R.K.R.]
301. LSJ renders Ka-aK\r)Tu<6i> (spell) “for invoking,” but Eitrem, in Preisendanz’s apparatus, is
probably right in translating “charm for calling in customers.” See on this point Maltomini, Studi Clas-
sic! e Oriental i 29 (1979) : 102; sec also PGM CXX1V. 7.
302. The wandering of Isis refers to her as the widow of Osiris searching for his body. Sec Plutarch,
De Is. et Os. 14, 356D-E; 39, 366F, and Griffiths, Plutarch ’s De hide et Osiride 315, 452. For wax figu-
rines associated with the cult of Isis, see Diodorus Sic. I. 21. 5-6 and the commentary by A. Burton,
Diodorus Siculus Book /, EPRO 29 (Leiden: Brill, 1972) : 93-94.
2345
2350
2355
2360
2365
2370
2375
2380
2385
82
PGM IV. 2441-2621
erect it in a single block of hollowed-out juniper, and have an asp covering the top
2390 as a capital . 303 Fashion him during the new moon and consecrate / it in a celebrating
mood, and read aloud the spell over his members, after you have divided him into
three sections — repeating the spell four times for each member. For each member
write on strips of papyrus made from a priestly scroll, with ink of cinnabar, juice of
2395 wormwood, and myrrh. When you have set it / up high on the place you have
chosen, sacrifice to it a wild [ass ] 304 with a white forehead and offer it whole and
roast the inward parts over the wood of willow and thus eat it.
2400 Now this is what is to be written on [each] strip of papyrus. The spell on the /
bag-, “eph erouchio chorai darida metheuei abachthie emesie echene
IAE IEN EBAPS PHNEOA ENTHONICHAENTHA TROMOCHMOUSO THERAOCHEIN
2405 SASI SAMACHIOTH OUASA AMAKARAIA KAIOS / LASOI.” Upon the head: “OAI IE
EIO NAO OULABETHEN THERMATH ENESIE.” On the neck: “THALAA MEMARACHO
cheth throu phen phthai.” On the right shoulder: “emaa chna thoue
2410 boleri.” On / the left: “ariao iee sypso ithen bachthipherpsoi thenibon.”
On the belly: “amamamar aiii ou mamo mou omba.” On the sacred bone:
2415 “ianoa phthoutho othom mathathou.” / On the right thigh: “arin thea
ragni methethio chre ie ie ere.” On the left thigh: “ei bin yeaio erenps
2420 tephet paraou anei.” On the private parts: “eerothesoneen / thnibith eu-
echen.” On the right shin: “mlanikouei bious.” On the left: “chnou touoy-
mouchos onio.” Under the sole of the right foot: “ouranion ” 305 On the left:
2425 / “anoupsie.” On the back of the buttocks: “etempsis psphops iaiaeeioo.” On
the snake the name “Agathos Daimon,” which is, as Epaphroditus 306 says, the follow-
2430 ing: / “PHRE ANOI PHORCHO PHYYY RORPSIS orochooi,” but as on the paper
which I found the spell was changed thus: “Harponknouphi” (formula).
2435 This is the spell for the rite : “I receive / you as the cowherd who has his camp
toward the south, I receive you for the widow and the orphan . 307 Therefore, give me
2440 favor, work for my business. Bring to me silver, gold, clothing, / much wealth for
the good of it.”
*Tr.: R. F. Hock.
PGM IV. 2441—2621
* Spell of attraction: 308 (implements: those for a lunar burnt offering); it attracts
those who are uncontrollable and require no magical material 309 and who come in
one day. It inflicts sickness excellently and destroys powerfully, sends dreams beau-
303. The clause opvKrov . . . K£Kpv/j./j.si;o v is obscure and not clearly related to its context. Preisen-
danz understands the snake to be buried in the basket which is put under the figure. The reference is
apparendy to the cista mystica which contained the snake and was carried on the head. See Apulcius,
Met. II. 11 and Griffiths, The Isis-Book 222—26; H. Lciscgang, “The Mystery' of the Serpent,” in The
Mysteries: Papers from the Emnos Yearbooks , Boilingcn Scries XXX. 2 (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1978), 194-260.
304. The papyrus has only here and in 1. 3148 aypiov which Jacoby emends to (6v)aypmv^ “wild
ass.” Eitrcm suggests ayptov xpiov, “wild ram.”
305. In Greek, “heavenly.”
306. Apparently the papyrus refers to another author bv the name Epaphroditos, but nothing is
known about him.
307. Cf. 1. 2375. See also Reitzenstein, Poimandres 31. The widow and orphan refer to Isis and
Horns; cf. PGM III. 542—43. See Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride 450. For the importance of
hospitality' in the myth of the wandering Isis, cf. C. E. Sander-Hansen, Die Texte der Metternichstele (Co-
penhagen: Munksgaard, 1956) 41-42; Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts 59-62. [ R.K.R.]
30S. This spell is similar to, and perhaps even parallel to, PGM IV. 2622—2784.
309. The translation of these adjectives is tentative and follows Preisendanz’s German translation,
PGM IV. 2441-2621
83
tifullv, accomplishes dream revelations marvelously and in its many / demonstra-
tions has been marveled at for having no failure in these matters.
Burnt offering-. Pachrates, 310 the prophet of Heliopolis, revealed it to the em-
peror Hadrian, revealing the power of his own divine magic. / For it attracted in
one hour; it made someone sick in 2 hours; it destroyed in 7 hours, sent the em-
peror himself dreams as he thoroughly tested the whole truth of the magic within
his power. And marveling at the prophet, / he ordered double fees to be given
to him.
Take a field mouse 3 " and deify it in spring water. And take two moon beetles 312
and deify them in river water, and take a river crab and fat of a dappled goat that
is virgin and dung of a dog- / faeed baboon, 2 eggs of an ibis, 2 drams of storax,
2 drams of myrrh, 2 drams of crocus, 4 drams of Italian galingale, 4 drams of uncut
frankincense, a single onion. Put all these things onto a mortar with the mouse
and the remaining items / and, after pounding thoroughly, place in a lead box and
keep for use. And whenever you want to perform a rite, take a little, make a char-
coal fire, go up on a lofty roof, and make the offering as you say / this spell at
moonrise, and at once she comes.
Spell: 3 ' 3 “Let all the darkness of clouds be dispersed for me, and let the goddess
aktiophis shine for me, and let her hear my holy voice. For I come / announcing
the slander 314 of NN, a defiled and unholy woman, for she has slanderously brought
your holy mysteries to the knowledge of men. She, NN, is the one, [not] I, who
says, T have seen die greatest / goddess, after leaving the heavenly vault, on earth
without sandals, sword in hand, and [speaking] a foul name.’ It is she, NN, who
said, T saw [the goddess] drinking blood.’ She, NN, said it, not I, aktiophis
ERESCHIGAL / NEBOUTOSOUALETH PHORI’HORBA SATRAPAMMON CHOIRIXIE,
flesh eater. Go to her NN and take away her sleep and put a burning heat in her
soul, 315 punishment and frenzied passion in her thoughts, / and banish her from
every place and from every house, and attract her here to me, NN.”
After saying these things, sacrifice. Then raise loud groans and go backward as
you descend. And she will come at once. But pay attention to the one being at-
tracted / so that you may open the door for her; otherwise the spell will fail. 316
For causing illness : Use these spells, adding, “Make her, NN, whom NN
bore, ill.”
And for destroying: Say, “Draw out her breath, Mistress, from the nostrils of her,
NN.”
except for flavor) fispovs which is rendered in analogy' to p.ovo<opo$ in II. 2450—51. Cf. also the parallels
in PGM IV. 2071-72; XXXVI. 361.
310. The prophet Pachrates may be identical with Pankrates described by Lucian, Philops. 34. See
K. Preisendanz, “Pachrates,” PRE 18 (1942) : 2071 -74; Nock, Essays 1, 183-84.
311. On the role of the mouse in magic, see W. R. Dawson, “The Mouse in Egyptian and Later
Medicine,” JEA 10 (1924) : 83-86.
312. On the moon beetle and its association with the moon, see Abt, Apologie 126-27.
313. Although only the general term for “spell” is used here (Aoyos'), the contents show clearly that
the passage is a “slander spell” (5 kx/1oA.t)). Cf. PGM IV. 2622 in the tide of a spell. [E.N.O. |
314. For this slander, cf. 11. 2574-2621, below. The projection of a ritual violation onto the party to
be affected by the spell, esp. the statement, “It is NN who said diat. It is not I who said that,” is also
found in numerous older Egyptian texts. Sec F. Lexa, La Magic dans I’Egypte antique I (Paris: Geuthncr,
1925) 56-58; Pritchard, ANET 327 and note b. In PGM cf. also III. 5, 114-15; VII. 593-619. On
the whole subject, see S. Eitrcm, “Die rituelle Al ABO AII,” 50 2 (1924) : 43— 61. [R.K.R.]
315. On the “burning of the soul,” see R. Ganszynicc, “Das Marchen dcr Pvthia,” Byzantiniscb-
Ncugriechische Jahrbucher 1 (1920) : 170— 71. Cf. also Glossary’, s.v. “Soul.”
316. Differently Preisendanz, who understands: “otherwise she will die.”
2445
2450
2455
2460
2465
2470
2475
2480
2485
2490
2495
84
PGM IV. 2441-2621
2500
2505
2510
2515
2520
2525
2530
2535
2540
2545
/ For sending dreams: Say, “Become like the god whom she worships.”
For dream revelations : Say, “Stand beside me, Mistress, and reveal to me about
the NN matter.” And she will stand beside you and will tell everything without
deception.
Do not therefore perform the rite rashly, and do not perform / it unless some
dire necessity arises for vou. It also possesses a protective charm against your fall-
ing, for the goddess is accustomed to make airborne those who perform this rite
unprotected by a charm and to hurl them from aloft down to the ground- So conse-
quently / I have also thought it necessary to take the precaution of a protective
charm so that you may perform the rite without hesitation. Keep it secret.
Take a hieratic papyrus roll and wear it around your right arm with which you
make the offering. And these are the / things written on it: “moulaTHI cher-
nouth amaro moullandron, guard me from every evil daimon, whether an evil
male or female.” Keep it secret, son . 317
The second spell , after you make / the first sacrifice, but it is better for you to say
it before you make the offering. This is the spell attached to the first:
“[I offer you ] 318 this spice, O child of Zeus,
Dart-shooter, Artemis, Persephone,
Shooter of deer, night-shining, / triple-sounding,
Triple-voiced, triple-headed Selene,
Triple-pointed, triple-faced, triple-necked.
And goddess of the triple ways, who hold
Untiring flaming fire in triple baskets.
And you who oft frequent the triple way
And rule the triple decades with three forms
/ And flames and dogs. From toneless throats you send
A dread, sharp cry when you, O goddess, have
Raised up an awful sound with triple mouths.
Hearing your cry, all worldly things arc shaken:
The nether gates and Lethe’s / holy water
And primal Chaos and the shining chasm
Of Tartaros. At it ev'rv immortal
And ev’ry mortal man, the starry mountains,
Valleys and ev’ry tree and roaring rivers.
And e’en the resdess sea, / the lonely echo.
And daimons through the world, shudder at you,
O blessed one, when they hear your dread voice.
Come here to me, goddess of night, beast-slayer.
Come and be at my love spell of attraction,
Quiet and frightful, and having your meal
Amid the graves. / And heed my prayers, Selene,
Who suffer much, who rise and set at night,
O triple-headed, triple-named mene
marzoune, fearful, gracious-minded, and
Persuasion . 319 Come to me, horned-faced, light-bringer,
317. The term “sort’ seems to indicate the magician’s apprentice. Cf. similar references in PGM I.
193; XIII. 214, 313, 343, 719, 755, etc. [E.N.O.]
318. These dactylic hexameters, with the usual mixture of accurate and faulty meter, also form the
reconstructed Hymn 20, for which see Prciscndanz, vol. II, pp. 257-59. [E.N.O.)
319. For the personified Persuasion ( Peitho ) as an attribute and companion of Aphrodite cf. PGM
PGM IV. 2441-2621
85
Bull-shaped, horse- faced goddess, who howl doglike; /
Come here, she-wolf, and come here now. Mistress
Of night and chthonic realms, holy, black-clad,
’Round whom the star- traversing nature of
The world revolves whene’er you wax too great.
You have established ev’ry worldly thing,
For you engendered everything on earth
And from / the sea and ev’ry race in turn
Of winged birds who seek their nests again.
Mother of all, who bore Love, Aphrodite,
Lamp-bearer, shining and aglow, Selene,
Star-coursing, heav’nly, torch-bearer, fire-breather, /
Woman four-faced, four-named, four-roads’ mistress.
Hail, goddess, and attend your epithets,
O heav’nly one, harbor goddess, who roam
The mountains and are goddess of the crossroads;
O nether one, goddess of depths, eternal.
Goddess of dark, come to my / sacrifices.
Fulfill for me this task, and as I pray
Give heed to me. Lady, I ask of you.”
Use this for the spells of coercion, for it can accomplish anything, but do not use
it frequently to Selene / unless the procedure which you are performing is worthy
of its power. For the hostile offerings, when some slander is involved, use the fol-
lowing stele, speaking thus:
This is the 3rd coercive spell :
“She , 520 NN, is burning for you, /
Goddess, some dreadful incense 321
And dappled goat’s fat, blood and filth,
The menstrual flow of virgin
Dead, heart of one untimely dead,
The magical material
Of dead dog, woman’s embryo.
Fine-ground wheat husks, / sour refuse.
Salt, fat of ciead doe, and mastic,
And myrtle, dark bay, barley.
And crab claws, sage, rose, fruit pits and
A single onion, / garlic,
Fig meal, a dog-faced baboon’s dung,
And egg of a young ibis.
Arid this is sacrilege! She placed
Them on your altar; she set
The flaming fire / to juniper
Wood strips and slays a seahawk
For you, a vulture and a mouse,
Your greatest myst’ry, goddess.
LII. 15, where the connection is not clear, however, and csp. Pindar, Pyth. 4; Aeschylus, Suppl. passim.
320. The meter of these lines is iambic tetrameter acatalectic. The passage is one version of the recon-
structed Hvmn 19; see Preiscndanz, voi. II, pp. 255-57. The second version, which differs in a number
of places, appears just below in PGM IV. 2643-74. [E.N.O.j
321. On the accusations, see PGM IV. 2475 and n.
2550
2555
2560
2565
2570
2575
2580
2585
2590
86
PGM IV. 2622-2707
2595
2600
2605
2610
2615
2620
2625
She said, too, that these deeds of pain
You had performed so harshly:
For she said that you slew a man
And drank the / blood of this man
Aid ate his flesh, and she says that
Your headband is his entrails
That you took all his skin and put
It into your vagina,
[That you drank] sea falcon’s blood and
That your food was dung beetle.
But Pan before your very" eyes
Shot forth his seed unlawful. /
A dog-faced baboon now is born
Whene’er there’s menstrual cleansing.
But you, aktiophis, Mistress,
Selene, Only Ruler,
Swift Fortune of daimons and gods:
NEBOUTOSOALETH IOI LOIMOU LALON, in Syriac: ETARONKON BYTHOU PNOU~
SAN / KATHINBERAO ESTOCHETH ORENTHA AMELCHERIBIOUTH SPHNOUTHI,
Brand her, NN, the lawless one.
With bitter retributions,
Whom I again will duly charge
To you in hostile manner.
I call you, triple-faced goddess
Mene, O light-beloved
Hermes / and Hckate at once,
Male-female child together;
MOUPHOR phorba. Queen Brimo, dreaded and lawful, and Dardania, All-seeing
One, come here, ioie, Virgin, Goddess of crossroads and bull snake are you.
Nymph and mare bitch and head / -nodder and Minoan and powerful, eala-
nindo, come here, atees enidelidima, Mistress Phaiara, medixa emithenio,
come to me, indeome, come here, megaphthe; she will come here. Attract her
NN to me very quickly, / I myself will clearly convict her of everything, goddess,
which she had done while sacrificing to you.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM TV. 2622-2707
* Slander spell 322 to Selene , 323 which works for everything and every rite. For it
attracts in the same hour, it sends dreams, it causes sickness, produces / dream vi-
sions , 324 removes enemies when you reverse the spell, however you wish. But above
all be protected by a protective charm and do not approach the procedure 325 care-
lessly or else the goddess is angry 226
322. See on this term PGM IV. 2475 and n.
323. For a similar slander spell, see PGM IV. 2471—92.
324. The papyrus lias op£Lfi(>\daviTT£i. For conjectures, cf. the apparatus ad loc., and for parallels
PGM IV. 3172, 3197. See also K. Prciscndanz, “Miszcllen zu den Zauberpapyri,” WSt 42 (1920):
31-32.
325. Here TTpayixareia seems to be a variant for the usual expression -paypet, “rite.”
326. The present tense is strange here; it should perhaps be read p.r\viel, “will be angry.” Preisen-
danz’s translation has a future ring, too (“sonst ziirnt die Gottin”).
PGM IV. 2622-2707
87
/ Preparation of the procedure’s protective charm : Take a magnet that is breath-
ing and fashion it in the form of a heart, and let there be engraved on it Hekate
lying about the heart, like a little crescent. Then carve the twenty-lettered spell that
is all vowels, / and wear it around your body.
The following name is what is written: “aeyo eie oa eoe eOa Oi eoi.” For this
spell is completely capable of everything. But perform this ritual in a holy manner,
not frequently / or lightly, especially to Selene. At any rate, burn upon pieces of
juniper wood an offering of Cretan storax and begin the spell.
The spell which is to be spoken :
“For 327 you the woman NN burns
Some hostile incense, goddess;
The fat of dappled goat, and blood, /
Defilement, embryo of
A dog, the bloody discharge of
A virgin dead untimely,
A young boy’s heart , 328 with barley mixed
In vinegar, both salt and
A deer’s horn, mastic, myrtle and
Dark bay, and mix at random,
And crab claws, / sage, rose, pits for you
And single onion, garlic.
Mouse pellets, dog-faced baboon’s blood,
And egg of a young ibis —
And what is sacrilege, she placed
These on your wooden altar
Of juniper. She, NN, / said
That you had done this matter;
For she said that you slew a man
And drank the blood of this man
And ate his flesh, and she says that
Your headband is his entrails.
That you took all his skin and put
It into your vagina, /
[That you drank] blood of a sea falcon
And your food was dung beedc.
And Pan before your very eyes
Shot forth his seed unlawful:
A dog-faced baboon now is born
From all the menstrual cleansing.
But you, aktiophis, Mistress,
Selene, / Only Ruler,
The Fortune of daimons and gods,
neboutosoualeth io imi boullon enourtilaie (otherwise: noumillon
327. The meter of these lines is iambic tetrameter acatelectic. The passage is one version of the recon-
structed Hymn 19; sec Prciscndanz, vol. II, pp. 255—57. The second version, which differs in a number
of places, appears above in PGM IV. 2574- 2610. [E.N.O.]
328. On rituals involving a boy’s heart, sec A. Henrichs, Die Phoinikika des Lollianos. Fragmente eines
neuen griechischen Romans , Papyrohgische Texte und Abhandlungen 14 (Bonn: Habelt, 1972): 32-37,
69-72.
2630
2635
2640
2645
2650
2655
2660
2665
88
PGM IV. 2708-84
ESORTILES BATHYPNOU SANKANTHARA MIBERATH ENTOCHE THO RENTHA IM-
OUE SORENTHA).
Mark her, NN, the lawless one,
2670 With bitter / retributions,
Whom I again will duly charge
To you in hostile manner
(Of all unlawful things that she
Has said against the goddess
Detail as many as you want).
For by the spell she forces
Even the rocks to burst asunder.”
2675 This, then, is the beneficent offering / which you sacrifice on the first and second
day (but on the diird day, with the coercive spell also sacrifice the offering that is
coercive). The beneficent offering, then, is: Uncut frankincense, bay, myrtle, fruit
2680 pit, stavesacrc, / cinnamon leaf, kostos. Pound all these together and blend with
Mendesian 329 wine and honey, and make pills the size of beans.
2685 The coercive offering: When you say the foregoing coercive spell / on the third
day, also make an offering: it is a field mouse, fat of a virgin dappled goat, magic
material of a dog- faced baboon, egg of an ibis, river crab, a perfect moon beetle,
2690 single-stemmed wormwood picked at sunrise, 330 magic material of a dog, / a single
clove of garlic. Blend with vinegar. Make pills and stamp with a completely iron
ring, completely tempered, with a Hekate 331 and the name barzou pherba.
2695 The protective charm which you must wear: l Onto lime wood write with ver-
milion tills name: “epokopt kopto bai baitokarakopto karakopto chilo-
2700 kopto bai (50 letters). Guard me from every daimon of the air / on the earth and
under the earth, and from every angel and phantom and ghostly visitation and
enchantment, me NN.” Enclose it in a purple skin, hang it around your neck and
wear it. /
2705 A protective charm on a silver leaf : 332
GTrrr er yi
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM TV. 2708-84
* Another love spell of attraction : Take some Ethiopian cumin and fat of a dap-
2710 pled virgin goat / and after putting die offering together, offer it to Selene on the
13th, 14th, on an earthen censer, on a lofty housetop, on coals. Spell :
329. See on this term PGM I. 85 and n.
330. Cf. on tliis point PGM IV. 286-87. It is likely that the magician recognizes that he is to per-
form a “ritual for picking a plant” {fioTOLirqapcris) .
331. The ring is supposed to have an image of Hekate.
332. For an example of a phylactery consisting of magical characters, see D. Jordan, “A Silver Phylac-
tery' at Istanbul,” ZPE 28 (1978) : 84-86.
PGM IV. 2708-84
89
“Come , 333 giant Hekate, Dione’s 334 guard, /
O Persia, Baubo Phroune , 335 dart-shooter.
Unconquered, Lydian , 336 the one untamed.
Sired nobly, torch -bearing, guide, who bends down
Proud necks, Kore, hear, you whoVe parted / gates
Of steel unbreakable. O Artemis,
Who, too, were once protectress, mighty one.
Mistress, who burst forth from the earth, dog-leader,
All-tamer, crossroad goddess, triple-headed,
Bringer of light, august / virgin, I call you
Fawn-slayer, crafty, O infernal one , 357
And many-formed. Come, Hekate, goddess
Of three ways, who with your fire-breathing phantoms
Have been allotted dreaded roads and harsh /
Enchantments. Hekate I call you with
Those who untimely passed away and with
Those heroes who have died without a wife
And children, hissing wildly, yearning in
Their hearts .” 338 (But others say, “with form of winds”). /
“Go stand above her (NN) head and take
Away from her sweet sleep. And never let
Eyelid come glued to eyelid, but let her
Be sore distressed with wakeful cares for me. /
And if she lies with someone else in her
Embrace, let her thrust him away and take
Me in her heart. Let her abandon him
At once and stand before my door subdued
In soul at longing for my bed of love . 339 /
But you, O Hekate, of many names,
O Virgin, Kore, Goddess, come, I ask,
O guard and shelter of the threshing floor,
Persephone, O triple-headed goddess.
Who walk on fire, cow-eyed bouorphorbe 340
PANPHORBA PHORBARA AKTIOPHI
ERESCHIGAL / NEBOUTOSOUALETH
333. The dactylic hexameters, which are frequently interrupted by voces magicae and other formulas,
also form the reconstructed Hymn 21. Sec Preisendanz, vol. II, pp. 259-60, where the hymn concludes
with IV. 2764 but adds 2784 as a kind of postscript. [E.N.O.]
334. Dione is a name of Aphrodite; see LSJ, s.v. Here in this syncrctistic hymn the name belongs to
Hekate, as on the magical tools from Pcrgamon; see Wunsch, Antikes Zaubergerdt 23-24.
335. The epithet of Hekate may be related to the frog (cf. PGM XXXVI. 235). The animal played an
important role in magic as a representative of the gods of the underworld. Sec M. Weber, “Frosch,” RAC
8 (1970): 524-38.
336. The use of the name “Lydian” with Hekatc-Artemis should be noted in connection with the
possible Lydian origin of Artemis. See on this point Chantraine, Dictionnaire I, 116—17.
337. The translation follows Reitzcnstein’s emendation (see Prcisendanz, apparatus ad loc.) of m>8-
vaia as 'A iSwvcda. This epithet of the goddess of Hades also occurs in PGM IV. 2855. Cf. LSJ, s.v.
A Odwaios; Suppl. s.v.
338. Cf. Homer, Od. 9. 75. As the apparatus points out, the verse may be corrupt.
339. <pt\.6rTfTi Kai svuf) is a Homeric bendmdys. Cf II. 3. 445; 6. 25. Sec PGM IV. 2910.
340. The voces magicae here seem intended as a part of the verse pattern and they have, however
awkwardly, been treated as such. [E.N.O. ]
2715
2720
2725
2730
2735
2740
2745
2750
90
PGM IV. 2785-2890
2755
2760
2765
2770
2775
2780
2785
2790
2795
Beside the doors, pypylededezo
And gate-breaker; Come Hekate, of fiery
Counsel, I call you to my sacred chants.
MASKELLI MASKELLO PHNOUKENTABAOTH OREOBAZAGRA who burst forth from
the earth, / earth marc, oreopeganyx mormoron tokoumbai” (add the usual),
“In frenzy 34 ' may she (NN) come fast to my doors,
Forgetting children and her life with parents,
And loathing all the race of men / and women
Except me (NN), but may she hold me alone
And come subdued in heart by love’s great force.
thenob 342 titheleb enor tenth enor. / Many-named One, KYZALEOUSA
pazaous; wherefore, kollidechma and sab set her (NN) soul ablaze with un-
resting fire. Both orion and michael who sits on high: you hold the seven wa-
ters / and the earth, keeping in check the one they call the great serpent, aicro-
KODERE 343 MOUISRO CHARCHAR ADONAI ZEUS DE DAMN AM EN EUS KYNOBIOU
ezagra” (add the usual), “io, all-powerful goddess / and io all-guarding one; 16 ,
all-sustaining One, zelachna: and saad sabiothe noumillon nathomeina,
always keineth, stalwart theseus onyx , 344 prudent damnameneus, / avenging
goddess, strong goddess, rite of ghosts, Persia sebara aicra.
Haste quickly. Let her now stand at mv doors” (add the usual).
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM IV. 2785-2890
* Prayer to Selene for any spell: 345
“Come 346 to me, O beloved mistress. Three-faced
Selene; kindly hear my sacred chants;
Night’s ornament, young, bringing light to mortals, /
O child of mom who ride upon fierce bulls,
O queen who drive your car on equal course
With Helios, who with the triple forms
Of triple Graces dance in revel with /
The stars. You’re Justice 347 and the Moira’s threads:
Klotho and Lachcsis and Atropos 348
341. See on this point the discussion by Worttnann, “Ncue magischc Tcxte,” 101—2. On the subject
of madness caused by magic, sec J. Mattes, Der Wahnsinn im griechiscben Mytbos and in tier Dicbtung bis
zum Drama des 5. Jabrhunderts, Bibliothek der Altertumsrsnssmschaften, N. F. 2. Reihc, Band 36 (Heidel-
berg: Winter, 1970) 44—49.
342. These lines (2764-84) retain some traces of hexameters, but only the last line comes dose to
being a complete line. [E.N.O.]
343. The formula seems to be textually mutilated. Cf. for similar passages PGM II. 23—24; V.
424—27; VII. 680—83. See Prcisendanz, apparatus ad loc.
344. onyx may refer to the stone onyx which was used in magic. Cf. Hopfner, OZ 1, section 582.
345. For a discussion of this hymn, sec K. Kerenyi, “Die Gottin Natur,” Eranos-Jahrbuch 14 (1947) :
39-86, csp. 68-79.
346. These dactylic hexameters, some of which show the usual irregularities, also form the recon-
structed Hymn 18. See Preisendanz, vol. II, pp. 253—55. [E.N.O. j
347. Dike ( Justice), the daughter of Zeus, has here and in 1. 2860 become an epithet of the under-
world goddess. For the association of Dike with underworld deities, see A. Dihle, “Gerechtigkeit,” RAC
10 (1976) : 243-45.
348. The reading of the papyrus is uncertain at this point. Traditionally, the names of the Furies were
Aiecto, Tisiphonc, and Mcgaira (Apoliodorus, Bib. I. 1. 4; Orph. Hymn. 69. 2). If the three Furies arc
intended here, the reading of Persephone will have to be changed toTisiphone, as suggested by Preisen-
danz, apparatus ad loc. Sec also H. Funkc, “Furien,” RAC 8 (1971) :699— 722, esp. 704—5.
PGM IV. 2785-2890
91
Three-headed, you’re Persephone, Megaira,
Aliekto, many-formed, who arm your hands /
With dreaded, murky lamps, who shake your locks 2800
Of fearful serpents on your brow, who sound
The roar of bulls out from vour mouths, whose womb
Is decked out with the scales of creeping things, /
With pois’nous rows of serpents down the back, 2805
Bound down your backs with horrifying chains
Night-Crier, bull-faced, loving solitude,
Bull-headed, you have eyes of bulls, / the voice 2810
Of dogs; you hide your forms in shanks of lions , 349
Your ankle is wolf-shaped, fierce dogs arc dear
To you, wherefore they call you / Hekate, 2815
Manv-named, Mene, cleaving air just like
Dart-shooter 350 Artemis, Persephone,
Shooter of deer, night / shining, triple-sounding, 2820
Triple-headed, triple-voiced Selene
Triple-pointed, triple-faced, triple-necked,
And goddess of the triple ways, who hold
Untiring flaming fire in triple baskets, /
And you who oft frequent the triple way 2825
And rule the triple decades , 331 unto me
Who’m calling you be gracious and with kindness
Give heed, you who protect the spacious world
At night, before whom daimons quake in fear /
And gods immortal tremble, goddess who 2830
Exalt men, you of many names, who bear
Fair offspring, bull-eyed, horned, mother of gods
And men, and Nature , 332 Mother of all things.
For you frequent Olympos, / and the broad
And boundless chasm you traverse. Beginning
And end are you, and you alone rule all.
For all things arc from you, and in you do
All things, Eternal one, come to their end.
As everlasting / band around your temples
You wear great Kronos’ chains , 353 unbreakable
And unremovable, and you hold in
Your hands a golden scepter. Letters ’round
Your scepter / Kronos wrote himself and gave
To you to wear that all things stay steadfast:
Subduer and subdued, mankind’s subduer.
And force-subduer; Chaos, too, you rule.
349. The phrase describing Hekate/ Artemis as standing between two lions points to the older con-
cept of the “queen of the animals.” Sec W. Helck, Betracbtungen zur Grossen Gottin und den ihr verbun-
denen Gottheiten (Miinchen und Wien: Oldcnbourg, 1971) esp. 223-25.
350. LI. 2819-26 are parallel to IV. 2523-28.
351. For the term “triple decades,” see PGM IV. 2527.
352. For the concept of Nature, sec Glossary, s.v.; for the epithet “mother of ail diings” see Orph.
Hymn. 10. 1: tra^^Tetpa. See also PGM IV. 2917.
353. See also PGM IV. 3084—3124 and S. Eitrcm, “Kronos in der Magic,” Universite libre de Brux-
elles, Annuaire de Vinstitut de philologie etd’histoire orient ales. II: Melanges }. Bidez , vol. I (Bruxelles: Secre-
tariat de Finstitut, 1934) 351-60.
2835
2840
2845
92
PGM IV. 2891-2942
2850
2855
2860
2865
2870
2875
2880
2885
2890
2895
2900
ararachara/ra ephthisikere.
Hail, goddess, and attend your epidiets,
I burn 354 for you this spice, O child of Zeus,
Dart-shooter, heaVnly one, goddess of harbors,
Who roam the mountains, goddess of crossroads, /
O nether and nocturnal, and infernal,
Goddess of dark, quiet and frightful 355 one,
O you who have your meal amid the graves , 356
Night, Darkness, broad Chaos: Necessity
Hard to escape arc you; you’re Moira and /
Erinys , 357 torment, Justice and Destroyer,
And you keep Kerberos in chains, with scales
Of serpents are you dark, O you with hair
Of serpents, serpent-girded, who drink blood, /
Who bring death and destruction, and who feast
On hearts, flesh eater, who devour those dead
Untimely, and you who make grief resound
And spread madness, come to my sacrifices.
And now for me do you filfill / this matter.”
Offering for the rite : For doing good, offer storax, myrrh, sage, frankincense, a
fruit pit. But for doing harm, offer magical / material of a dog and a dappled goat
(or in a similar way, of a virgin untimely dead).
Protective charm for the rite\ Take a lodestone and on it have carved / a three-
faced Hekate. And let the middle face be that of a maiden wearing horns, and the
left face that of a dog, and the one on the right that of a goat. After the carving is
done, / clean with natron and water, and dip in the blood of one who has died a
violent death. Then make a food offering to it 358 and say the same spell at the time
of the / ritual . 359
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM TV. 2891—2942
* Love spell of attraction:
Offering to the star of Aphrodite : 360 A white dove’s blood and fat, untreated myrrh
and parched wormwood. Make this up together as pills and offer them to the star
on pieces of vine / wood or on coals. And also have the brains of a vulture for the
compulsion, so that you may make the offering. And also have as a protective charm
a tooth from the upper right jawbone of a female ass or of a tawny sacrificial heifer,
tied to your left arm with / Anubian thread . 361
354. The following lines are similar to those at PGM IV. 2522—29, but their order occasionally
differs.
355. On Sacr-jrXTjTt, “frightful,” cf. Theocritus, Idyll 2. 14 (said of Hekate). [E.N.O.]
356. On eating amid graves, cf., c.g., Tibullus 1. 5. 49-56, esp. 53-54.
357. The goddess is here identified with Erinys, the avenging deity. This identification is somewhat
inconsistent with 1. 2798, where the three Furies are named; the same is true of Moira (1. 2859) as com-
pared with the three Moirai (H. 2795-96). See PGM IV. 1418, 2339; V. 191; and IV. 2798 with n.
358. The term irapctilscris refers to an offering of food. See PGM I. 23, 39; XIII. 1012. Cf. Eitrcm’s
and Preisendanz’s translation: “leg ihn (eine Wcile) beiseite.” Wiinsch thinks of die term as a cover
(“Hulle”).
359. For die meaning of the phrase, see PGM V. 230.
360. The star of Aphrodite is the planet Venus.
361. On the Anubian thread see PGM I. 147 and n.
PGM IV. 2891-2942
93
Compulsion element of the rite :
“But, 362 if as goddess you in slowness act.
You will not see Adonis rise from Hades, 363
Straightway Fll run and bind him with steel chains; /
As guard, Fll bind on him another wheel
Of Ixion; 364 no longer will he come
To light, and he’ll be chastized and subdued.
Wherefore, O Lady, act, I beg: Attract
NN, whom NN bore, to come with rapid step
To my door, 365 me, NN, whom NN bore, /
And to the bed of love, driven by frenzy,
In anguish from the forceful goads — today,
At once, quickly. For I adjure you, Kythere, 366
NOUMILLON BIOMBILLON AICTIOPHI ERESCHIGAL NEBOUTOSOUALETH PHROU-
REXIA THERMIDOCHE BAREO / NE.”
Hymn of Compulsion :
“O foam-born Kythereia, mother of
Both gods and men, etherial and chthonic,
All-Mother Nature, goddess unsubdued,
Who hold together things, 367 who cause the great
Fire to revolve, who keep the ever-moving
barza 368 / in her unbroken course; and you
Accomplish everything, from head to toes,
And by your will is holy water mixed,
When by your hands you’ll move rhouzo 369 amid
The stars, the world’s midpoint which you control.
You move holy desire into the souls
Of men / and move women to man, and you
Render 370 woman desirable to man
362. Tliis is a curious and confused passage. LI. 2902—15 contain scattered snatches of verses which
are obviously parts of dactylic hexameters. LI. 2916—28 contain lines which are relatively accurate hexa-
meters, but 2929-39 arc a mixture of metrical and nonmetricai lines. Nevertheless, the whole passage
has been arranged and reconstructed as Hymn 22; see Preisendanz, vol. II, pp. 260—61. Since the tone
and purpose of the whole passage seems hymnic, the translation has been made in verse but with an
occasional faulty line. [E.N.O.]
363. On the cult of Adonis in Egypt and the problem concerning his “resurrection,” cf. Theocritus,
Idyll 15 and, with further literature, Nilsson, GGR II, 35 n. 2; 650, n, 4; Griffiths, Plutarch’s Dc Isidc et
Osiride 320-22.
364. Because he attempted to make love to Hera, wife of Zeus, the mythical king Ixion was con-
demned by being fastened to an ever-turning wheel. The myth of Ixion was very popular in antiquity.
See Cook, Zeus III, 2, pp. 200—205 (with plates); P. Weizsacker, in Roscher 2, 766-72, s.v. ‘ixion”;
H. von Geisau, “Ixion,” ICP 3 (1979) : 3 1 -32.
365. Preisendanz states that sv Trpohvpouriv is a tag from Homer, Od. 10. 220.
366. Two traditional epithets of Aphrodite occur here closely together: Kythere in 1.2912 and
Kythereia in 1. 2915. The name may refer to the island of Kvthera which was believed to be Aphrodite’s
birthplace and which had a temple of Aphrodite Urania. Sec LSJ, s.v.; E. Meyer, “Kvthera,” KP 3
(1979): 423.
367. The reading of this epither is uncertain. See the apparams.
368. The word BARZA is Persian and means “shining light.” See Ilopfher, OZ II, p. 100.
369. ITopfner, OZ II, p. 100, assumes that rhouzo is confused with the Persian magical word
zouro. Sec also K. Preisendanz, “Zuro,” in Roschcr 6, pp. 763-64.
370. Preisendanz prints tlx} 170-1, the reading of the papyrus, but the third person is certainly wrong
here. The simplest correction is that of Wessclv: ridrjy cn>, and that is what is translated here.
2905
2910
2915
2920
2925
94
PGM IV. 2943 “66
Through all the days to come, our Goddess Queen,
Come to these chants. Mistress
ARRORIPHRASI GOTHETINI, CvprUS-born, SOUI ES THNOBOCHOU THORITHE
2930 sthenepio. Lady / serthenebeei, and inflict fiery love on her, NN, whom NN
bore.
So 371 that for me, NN, whom NN bore.
She melt with love through all the days to come
But, blessed rhouzo, grant this to me, NN:
Just as into your chorus ’mid the stars
A man unwilling you attracted to
2935 Your bed for intercourse, / and once he was
Attracted, he at once began to turn
Great barza, nor did he cease turning, and
While moving in his circuits, he’s aroused:
wherefore attract to me, her, NN, whom NN bore.
To bed of love. But goddess Cyrpus-bom
Do you now to the hill fulfill this chant.” /
2940 If you see the star shining steadily, it is a sign that she has been smitten, and if it is
lengthened like the flame of a lamp, she has already come. 372
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGM IV. 2943—66
* Love-spell of attraction through wakefulness: Take the eyes of a bat and release
2945 it alive, and take / a piece of unbaked dough or unmelted wax and mold a little
dog; and put the right eye of the bat into the right eye of the little dog, implanting
also in die same way the left one in the left. And take a needle, thread it widi the
2950 magical material and / stick it through the eyes of the litde dog, so that the magical
material is visible. And put the dog into a new drinking vessel, attach a papyrus
strip 373 to it and seal it with your own ring which has crocodiles with the backs of
2955 their heads attached, 374 and / deposit it at a crossroad after you have marked die
spot so that, should you wish to recover it, you can find it.
Spell written on the papyrus strip '. “I adjure you three times by Hekate phor-
2960 phorba baibo phorborba, that she, NN, lose the fire in her eye or even / lie
awake with nodiing on her mind except me, NN, alone. I adjure by Kore, who has
become the Goddess of Three roads, and who is the true mother of. . . (whom you
2965 wish), PHORBEA BRIMO NEREATO DAMON BRIMON SEDNA / DARDAR, All-Seeing
one, iope, make her, NN, lie awake for me through all [eternity].”
*Tr.:E.N. O’Neil.
371. The verse resumes here after a few lines of prose; however, the NN-formula does not scan.
372. The last word of this section is either (“she has come”) or v (“it has attracted”). The
magical sense — or the result — is the same in either ease. For the rare aorist of ay a> cf. PGM IV. 2934:
Preisendanz prints in the first, in the second edition, but in the index lists the word
under 7 }kw. [E.N.O.]
373. iriTTttKL^o) means “attach a label” (LSI, s.v.) in the sense of attaching a papyrus strip on which
writing is placed; cf. below, U. 2956—66. [E.N.O.]
374. Whether this means “head to head” (thus Preisendanz) or “tail to tail” (thus LSI) or “head to
tail” is uncertain. Paired crocodiles appear on seals in all these positions, but head to tail is far more
frequent. [M.S.] The crocodile was sacred to Sobck, with whose cult sacred prostitution seems to have
been associated. Thus there mav be a link with the erotic theme of this spell. See H. Thompson, “Two
Demotic Self- Dedications ? JEA 26 (1940) :68- 78. [R.K.R.]
PGM IV. 2967-3006
95
PGM XV. 2967-3006
* Among the Egyptians herbs are always obtained like this: 375 the herbalist first pu-
rifies his own body, then sprinkles with natron 376 and / fumigates the herb with
resin from a pine tree after earning it around the place 3 times. 377 Then, after
burning kyphi and pouring the libation of milk as he prays, he pulls up the plant
while invoking by name the daimon to whom the herb / is being dedicated and
calling upon him to be more effective for the use for which it is being acquired.
The invocation for him, which he speaks over any herb, generally at the moment
of picking, is as follows: 378
"You were sown by Kronos, you were conceived by Hera, / you were maintained
by Ammon, you were given birth by Isis, you were nourished by Zeus the god of
rain, you were given growth by Helios and dew. 379 You [are] the dew of all die gods,
you [are] the heart of Hermes, you are the seed of the primordial gods, you are the
eye / of Helios, 380 you are the light of Selene, 381 you are the zeal of Osiris, 382 you are
the beauty and the glory of Ouranos, you are the soul of Osiris’ daimon which
revels in every place, you are the spirit of Ammon. As you have exalted Osiris, so
/ exalt yourself and rise just as Helios rises each day. Your size is equal to the zenith
of Helios, your roots come from the depths, but your powers are in the heart of
Hermes, your fibers are the bones of Mnevis, 383 and your / flowers are the eye of
Horus, 384 your seed is Pan’s seed. I am washing you in resin as I also wash the
gods 385 even [as I do this] for my own health. You also be cleaned by prayer and give
us power as Ares and Athena do. I am Hermes. I am acquiring you with Good
/ Fortune and Good Daimon both at a propitious hour and on a propitious day
that is effective for all things.”
After saying this, he rolls the harvested stalk in a pure linen cloth (but into the
place of its roots they threw seven seeds of wheat and an equal number of barley,
after mixing them with honey), / and after pouring in the ground which has been
dug up, he departs.
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
375. On plant picking, see PGM IV. 286 and n.
376. Natron, a natural compound of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, was the primary
mineral used for purification in Egypt. See J. R. Harris, Lexicographical Studies in Ancient Egyptian Min-
erals (Berlin: Akademic-Vcrlag, 1961), 193-94. [R.K.R.j
377. On the rituai of walking in a circle, see W. Pax, “Circumambulatio,’’ RAC 3 (1957) : 143—52.
For a humorous example, see Propertius, Eleg. 4. 8. 81-86. [E.N.O.]
378. Cf. the divinization of persons in Egyptian religion, documentation of which lists the individu-
als alongside various gods so as to identify them. See A. Massert, “A propos des Estes’ dans les textes
funeraires ct magiques,” Analecta Biblica 12 (1959) : 227-46. [R.K.R.]
379. On the significance of dew (Spocros), sec Plutarch, Dels, et Os. 33, 364A, and Griffiths, Plu-
tarch’s Dc Iside et OsiriAe 424, where lie refers to PGM XII. 234. [E.N.O. |
380. The association of the eye and the sun (Helios) was widely known in antiquity. See P. Wilpert
(S. Zenker), “Auge,” RAC 1 (1950) csp. 961-63.
381 . That is, the light of the moon.
382. The term ottouSt) (“zeal”) is troublesome. Preisendanz translates “Wiirde” (majesty 7 ). Cf. the
apparatus ad loc. [E.N.O. ]
383. The epithet Mnevis, which occurs in PGM VII. 445; XIXa. 6, is the hellenized form of the
Egyptian Mr-m\ the name of the holy bull of Heliopolis, the incarnation of the sun god Pre. See Di-
odorus Sic. 1. 84. 4; Plutarch, Dels, et Os. 33, 364C, with Griffiths commentarv, 425. On the matter,
see W. Helck, “Mnevis,” KP 3 (1975) : 1374- 75; L. Kakosy, “Mnevis,” LdA 4 (1980) : 165-67.
384. For the eye of Horus, see PGM III. 421-26.
385. The reference is to the daily temple cult and care for the divine statues, including their washing,
dressing, and feeding. See Morenz, Egyptian Religion 87-88. [R.K.R.]
2970
2975
2980
2985
2990
2995
3000
3005
96
PGM IV. 3007-86
PGM TV. 3007—86
* A tested charm of Pibechis 386 for those possessed by daimons: 38 Take oil of
unripe olives with the herb mastigia and the fruit pulp of the lotus, and boil them
3010 with colorless marjoram / while saying, “ioel 6s sarthiomi emori theochip-
SOITH SITHEMEOCH SOTHE IOE MIMIPSOTHIOOPH PHERSOTHI AEEIOYO IOE EO
chari phtha, come out from NN” (add die usual). The phylactery. On a tin
30)5 lamella write / “iaeo abraoth ioch phtha mesenpsin iao pheoch iaeo
CHARSOK,” and hang it on the patient. It is terrifying to every daimon, a thing he
fears. After placing [the patient] opposite [to you], conjure. This is the conjura-
3020 tion: “I conjure you by the god of the Hebrews, / Jesus, 388 iaba lae abraoth aia
THOTH ELE ELO AEO EOY IIIBAECH ABARMAS IABARAOU ABELBEL LONA ABRA
maroia brakion, who appears in fire, who is in the midst of land, 389 snow, and
3025 log, tannetis ; 390 let your / angel, the implacable, descend and let him assign the
daimon flying around this form, which god formed in his holy paradise, because I
pray to the holy god, [calling] upon ammon ipsentancho (formula). I conjure
3030 you, LABRIA IAKOUTH / AB LAN AT HAN ALBA AKRAMM (formula) AOTH IATHA-
BATHRA CHACHTHABRATHA CHAMYN CHEL ABROOTH OUABRASILOTH HALL ELOU
ielosai lael. I conjure you by the one who appeared to Osrael 391 in a shining pillar
3035 and a cloud by dav, 392 /who saved his people from the Pharaoh and brought upon
Pharaoh the ten plagues because of his disobedience. 393 I conjure you, every dai-
3040 monic spirit, to tell whatever sort you may be, because I conjure you by the seal /
which Solomon 394 placed on the tongue of Jeremiah, and he told. You also tell what-
ever sort you may be, heavenly or aerial, whether terrestrial or subterranean, or
3045 netherworldly or Ebousaeus or Cherseus or Pharisaeus, 395 tell / whatever sort you
may be, because I conjure you by god, light- bearing, 396 unconquerable, who knows
what is in die heart of every living being, the one who formed of dust die race of
humans, 397 the one who, after bringing them out from obscurity 7 , packs together
386. Pibechis was a legendary magician from Egypt. See K. Preisendanz, “Pibechis,” PRE 20
(1941) : 1310-12. Pibechis iy Egyptian P^-bk, “the falcon.” [E.N.O. |
387. The following section contains numerous references to Jewish traditions. For a discussion and
collections of parallel passages, see W. L. Knox, “Jewish Liturgical Exorcism,” HTR 31 (1938):
191-203; Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East 256-64.
388. On the peculiar epithet “Jesus the god of the Hebrews,” see Reitzenstein, Poimandres 14, nn.
1—2; Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East 260, n. 4; Knox, “Jewish Liturgical Exorcism,” 193-94;
H. Chadwick, Origen, Contra Celsum (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2 1965) 210 (one. Cels.
4. 34); Smith, Jesus the Magician 113; A. A. Barb, ‘Three Elusive Amulets,” JWC1 27 (1964) : 7—9. Cf.
PGM XXIIb. 18.
389. See on this “field” PGM XIV. 8; LXXVH. 5.
390. tannetis may be equivalent to the Egyptian Ta-nt-N.t , “She of Neith.” Cf. the apparatus ad
loc. [R.K.R.J
391. Osrael is a variant form of Israel. See PGM IV. 1816 with n.
392. Cf. on this legendary tradition LXX Ex 13 : 21— 22 and parallels. See J. Danielou, “Feuersaule
( Lichtsaule, Wolkensaulc) ,” RAC 7 ( 1 969) : 786- 90.
393. On the plagues of Pharaoh, see LXX Ex 7:8—11:10 and parallels.
394. The “sea! of Solomon” is the name of a famous amulet in antiquity'. For bibliography, see
G. Fitzer, TDNT 7 (1971) :947, n. 72. Placing the amulet on the tongue of Jeremiah appears to come
from haggadic tradition unknown to us. Sec K. Preisendanz, “Salomo,” PRE.S 8 (1965) : 660-704.
395. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East 261, n. 11, derives these names of demons from LXX
Gn 15 : 20-21; Ex 3 : 8, 17, etc.: The Xfirrmot have become Xepo-aZos (“land daimon”), the ( Pepe(aioi
have become <i>apuraio s (which therefore has been confused with Pharisee), and the Icfiovaaiot. have
become 'E/3oticrato9. Cf. Dietrich, Abraxas 139; Preisendanz, apparatus ad loc.
396. Id. 3045—52 contain prayer language apparently of Jewish origin. See the biblical parallels in
Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East 261-62.
397. Cf. LXX Gn 2 : 7.
PGM IV. 3007-86
97
the clouds, waters the earth with rain / and blesses its fruit, [the one] whom every
heavenly power of angels and of archangels praises. I conjure you by the great god
sabaoth, through whom the Jordan River drew back 398 and the Red Sea, / which
Israel crossed, became impassable, 399 because I conjure you by the one who intro-
duced the one hundred forty languages 400 and distributed them by his own
command. I conjure you by the one who burned up die stubborn giants with
lightning, 401 / whom the heaven of heavens praises, whom the wings of the cheru-
bim 402 praise. I conjure you by the one who put die mountains around the sea [or]
a wall of sand and commanded the sea not to overflow. 403 The abyss obeyed; 404 and
you obey, / every daimonic spirit, because I conjure you by the one who causes die
four winds to move 405 together from the holy aions, [the] skylike, sealike, cloud-
like, light-bringing, unconquerable [one]. I conjure [you] by the one in holy Jerusa-
lem, 41,6 before whom the / unquenchable fire bums for all time, 407 with his holy
name, iaeobaphrenemoun (formula), the one before whom the fiery Gehenna
trembles, flames surround, iron bursts asunder and every mountain is afraid from
its foundation. / I conjure you, every daimonic spirit, by the one who oversees the
earth and makes its foundations tremble, 408 [the one] who made all things which
are not into that which is.” 409
And I adjure you, the one who receives this conjuration, / not to eat pork, 410 and
every spirit and daimon, whatever sort it may be, will be subject to you. And while
conjuring, blow once, blowing air from the tips of the feet up to the face, 411 and it
will be assigned. Keep yourself pure, for this charm / is Hebraic and is preserved
among pure men.
*Tr.:W.C. Grese.
398. Cf. LXX Jos 3 : 13-14; Ps 1 13 : 3.
399. Cf. LXX Ex 14:27. See J. Danielou, “Exodus,” RAC 7 (1969) : 22-44.
400. Most Jewish sources speak of seventy nations and seventy languages in the world. But there are
authorities who name 1 40 languages. For discussion and references, see Ginzbcrg, The Legends of the Jews
1, 173; II, 214; V, 194-95.
401. Cf. LXX Gn 6 : 4; 19 : 24-29. See W. Speyer, “Gigant,” RAC 10 (1978) : 1247-75.
402. The text has Cheruhin. See Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East 262, n. 8.
403. Cf. LXX Jb 38 : 1 0— 1 1 ; Jcr 5:22.
404. Cf. LXX Prv 8 : 26-29; Jb 38 : 30, 34.
405. Cf. LXX Ps 134:7; also Gn 8 : 1; Nm 1 1 : 31; Jb 28 : 25, etc.
406. The name is given as Hierosolymon. For the various forms of the city’s name, see G. Fohrer and
E. Lohse, TDNT 7 (1971), s.v. tuhv ktA., sections A. I. 2; B. I (esp. nn. 133, 134); C. I. 2.
407. This refers to the seven-branched candelabrum (menorah) of the Jerusalem Temple. Its undying
light was legendary in antiquity. See PGM IV. 1219 and n.; Ps.-Hecataeus, in Iosephus, c. Ap. 1. 199;
LXX Ex 27:20; Lv 6: 12-13; Diodorus Sic. 34. 1. 4 (also in M. Stern, Greek and Latin Authors on Jews
and Judaism I (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1976], p. 180 (# 63). For
additional references, sec Schurcr, The History of the Jewish People II (1979) 297 and n. 18.
408. Cf. LXX Ps 103:32.
409. This is a reference to the doctrine of the creatio ex nihilo. Cf. 2 Me 7 : 28; Philo, De spec. leg.
4.187; etc. Cf. D. Winston, The Wisdom of Solomon, The Anchor Bible 43 (New York: Doublcdav, 1979)
38-40; G. May, Schopfung aus dem Nichts , A KG 48 (Berlin: De Gruvter, 1978).
410. The prohibition to eat pork is the Jewish one in this case, and not the Egyptian. Cf. LXX Lv
1 1 : 7; Dt 14 : 8; Is 65 : 4; etc. Cf. also PGM I. 105; Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 5, 352F and Griffiths, Plu-
tarch’s De Iside et Osiride 272.
411. On this “inspiration,” see S. Eitrcm, Some Notes on the Demonology of the New Testament (Oslo:
Universitctsforlaget, 2 1966) 47-49.
3050
3055
3060
3065
3070
3075
3080
3085
98
PGM IV. 3086-3124
PGM IV. 3086-3124
* Oracle of Kronos 4,2 in great demand, called “little mill” : Take two measures of
3090 salt and grind with a handmill while saying the formula many times until / the god
appears to you. Do it at night in a place where grass grows. If while you are speak-
ing you hear the heavy step of [someone] and a clatter of iron, the god is coming
bound with chains, holding a sickle . 413 But do not be frightened since you are pro-
3095 tected by the phylactery that / will be revealed to you. Be clothed with clean linen
in the garb of a priest of Isis . 414 Offer to the god sage together with a heart of a cat
and horse manure.
The formula to be spoken while you are mixing is this : Formula : “I call you, the
great, holy, the one who created the whole inhabited world, against whom die
3100 transgression was committed / by your own son , 415 you whom Helios bound with
adamantine fetters lest the universe be mixed together, you hermaphrodite, father
of die thunderbolt, you who hold down those under the earth, aie oi paidalis
3105 PHRENOTEICHEIDO STYGARDES SANKLEON / GENECHRONA KOIRAPSAI KERIDEU
THALAMNIA ochota anedei; come, master, god, and tell me by necessity con-
cerning the NN matter, for I am the one who revolted against you, paidolis
3110 mainolis mainolieus.” These are to be said while the salt / is being ground.
And the formula which compels him is: “kydobris koderieus ankyrieus
xantomoulis.” You say these things when he appears threateningly, in order that
he might be subdued and speak about the things you ask.
3115 The phylactery ! in great demand for him [is] : On the rib 416 of a young pig
carve Zeus holding fast a sickle and this name: “chthoumilon.” Or let it be the
rib of a black, scaly, castrated boar.
3120 Dismissal: “anaea ochbta thalamnla kerideu / koirapsia genechrona
SANELON STYGARDES CHLEIDO PHRAINOLE PAIDOLIS IAEI, go away, master of the
world, forefather; go to your own places in order that the universe be maintained.
Be gracious to us, lord.”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM IV. 3125-71
3125 * Whenever you want a place to prosper greatly, so that those in the place or the
temple where the phylactery is hidden will marvel, [use this rite]. For wherever this
[phylactery] be placed, if in a temple, the temple will be talked about throughout
3130 the whole world; / if in some other place, [the place] will prosper gready.
This is how to make [the phylactery] : Taking Etruscan wax, mold a statue three
handbreadths high . 417 Let it be three-headed. Let the middle head be that of a sea
3135 falcon; the right, of a baboon; / the left, of an ibis. Let it have four extended wings
and its two arms stretched on its breast ; 418 in them it should hold a scepter. And let
412. For an analysis of the agrarian features of Kronos in this spell, see Eitrem, “Kronos in dcr
Magic,” 351-60.
413. On the sickle as a weapon (also 1. 3 1 16), see A. A. Barb, “Cain’s Murder- weapon and Samson’s
Jawbone of an Ass,” JWCI 35 ( 1 972) : 386-89.
414. For the Egyptian priestly costume, sec S. Sauncron, The Priests of Ancient Egypt (New York:
Grove Press, 1960) 40. Sec also Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 4, 352C, and Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et
Osiride 270. [R.K.R.]
415. That is, Zeus who castrated his father Kronos.
416. The text is uncertain at this point. See the apparatus ad loc.
417. For a wax statue of this so-called pantheistic god, see S. Sauncron, “Le Nouveau sphinx com-
posite du Brooklyn Museum et le role du dieu Toutou-Tithoes,” JNES 19 (1960) : 269-87; esp.
284-85. Cf. PGM XII. 121-43; XIII. 50 for this figure. [R.K.R.]
418. Probably crossed. [M.S.]
PGM IV. 3172-3208
99
it be wrapped [as a mummy] like Osiris. Let the falcon wear the crown of Horns;
the baboon, / the crown of Hermanubis ; 419 and let the ibis wear the crown of Isis.
Put into the hollow inside it a heart [made] of magnetite, and write the following
names on a piece of hieratic papyrus and put them into the hollow. Next, when you
have made it an iron base, stand it / on the base and put it into a little juniper wood
temple at moonrise on the third day of the goddess . 420 Then, having fixed it [firmly]
in whatever place you choose, sacrifice to it a wild white-faced [falcon ?], 421 and
burn [this offering] entire; also pour to it, as a libation, the milk of a black cow,
/ the firstborn [of its mother] and the first she suckled. [By these sacrifices you will
have completed the deification of the statue.] And [now] feast with [the god], sing-
ing to him all night long the names written on the strip [of papyrus] put in the hol-
low. Wreathe the little temple with olive and thus [you will prosper] throughout
life. / And sing the same spell when you get up in the morning, before you open
[your shop or temple] . The names to be written and recited are these :
“bicho
BICHOBI
CHOBIBEU
NASSOUNAINTHI
NOUNAITH
MOUR
SOURPHEO
MOURETH
ANIMOKEO
ARPAER
SAN I
SOUMARTA
AKERMORTHOOUTH
ANIMI
MIMNOUER
IERI
ANIMI
MIMNIMEU.”
“Give me all favor, all success, for the angel bringing good, who stands beside
[the goddess] Tyche, is with you. Accordingly, give profit [and] success to this
house. Please, Aion, ruler of hope, giver of wealth, O holy Agathos Daimon, bring
to fulfillment all favors and / your divine oracles.” Then open [your establishment]
and you will marvel at the unsurpassed holy power.
*Tr.: Morton Smith.
PGM TV. 3172—3208
* Dream-producing 422 charm using three reeds: The picking of the three reeds is
to be before sunrise . 423 After sunset raise the first, look / to the east and say three
times: “maskelu maskello phnoukentabao oreobazagra rexichthon
HIPPOCHTHON PYRIPEGANYX AEEIOYO LEPETAN AZARACHTHARO, I am picking
you up in order that you might give me a dream.” / Raise the second to the south
and say again the “maskelli” formula, the vowels and “throbela”; hold the reed
and spin around; look toward the north and the west and say three times the same
names, / those of the second reed. Raise the third and say the same names and these
things: “ie ie, I am picking you for such-and-such a rite.”
These things are to be written on the reeds: On the first: “azarachtharo”; on
the second: “throbeia”; / on the third: “ie ie.”
Then take a lamp that is not painted red and fill it with pure olive oil. Take a clean
strip of cloth and write down all the names. Say the same things to the lamp seven
times. Let the lamp be facing east / and let it be next to a censer on which you will
make an offering of lumps of frankincense. After preparing the reeds and binding
them together with fibers of a date palm, make them into a kind of tripod, and
419. The name is a combination of Hermes and Anubis.
420. Third day of the goddess Selene. Cf. PGM III. 702; IV. 170; XII. 379.
421. For the emendation (6v)arypi.ov, see PGM IV. 2396 and n.
422. The word translated is ovr.Lpodav—Tdvq . Cf. the apparatus ad loc. and PGM IV. 2624-25.
423. For picking a plant, see PGM IV. 286 and n.
3140
3145
3150
3155
3160
3165
3170
3175
3180
3185
3190
3195
100
PGM IV. 3209-54
place the lamp on it. Let the head of the practitioner be crowned with olive branches.
3200 Composition of the ink with which it is necessary to write / on the reeds and the
wick: single-stemmed wormwood, vetch, 3 pits of Nicolaus date palms, 3 Karian
dried figs, soot from a goldsmith, 3 branches of a male date palm, sea foam.
3205 The things to be written / and recited are these : “I conjure you by the sleep re-
leaser because I want you to enter into me and to show me concerning the NN
matter, ieroriethedien throu chaora arpebo endalela.”
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGM IV. 3209-54
3210 * Saucer divination of Aphrodite: Having kept oneself pure for 7 / days, take a
white saucer, fill it with water and olive oil, having previously written on its base
with myrrh ink: “eioch chipha elampser zel a e e i o y o” (25 letters); and
beneath the base, on the outside: “tachiel chthonie draxo” (18 letters). Wax
3215 over / with white wax. On the outside of the rim at the top: “iermi philo 6
erikoma derko malok gaule aphriel I ask” (say it 3 times). Let it rest on the
3220 floor and looking intently at it, say “I call upon you, the mother and mistress / of
nymphs, 424 ilaouch obrie louch tlor; [come] in, holy light, and give answer,
showing your lovely shape.”
Then look intently at the bowl. When you sec her, welcome her and say, "Hail,
3225 very glorious goddess, ilara / ouch. And if you give me a response, extend your
hand.” And when she extends it, expect answers to your inquiry.
But if she does not listen say, “I call upon the ilaouch who has begotten Hi-
3230 meros, 425 the lovely Horai and / you Graces; I also call upon the Zeus-sprung
Physis of all things, two-formed, indivisible, straight, foam-beautiful Aphrodite.
3235 Reveal to me your lovely light and your lovely face, O mistress ilaouch. / I con-
jure you, giver of fire, [by] elginal, and [by the] great names obrietych kerdy-
nouchilepsin niou naunin iouthou thrigx tatiouth gertiath gergeris
3240 gergerie theithi. I also ask you 426 [by] the all wonderful / names, oisia ei ei
AO EY AAO IOIAIAIO SOTHOU BERBROI AKTEROBORE 427 GERIE IEOYA; bring me
light and your lovely face and the true saucer divination, you shining with fire, bear-
3245 ing fire all around, stirring the land from afar, / io io PHTHAIE thouthoi pha-
ephi. Do it.”
Preparation : having kept yourself pure, as you learned, take a bronze drinking
cup, and write with myrrh ink the previously inscribed stele which calls upon Aph-
3250 rodite, / and use the untouched olive oil and clean river water. Put the drinking cup
on your knees and speak over it the stele mentioned above, and the goddess will
appear to you and will reveal concerning what things you wish.
*Tr.: J. P. Hershbell.
PGM IV. 3255—74
3255 *Take an unbaked [brick] and with a bronze stylus draw an [ass] running, and on
its face “iao io,” and on its neck in the shape of a little bell “eoeoe,” and on its
424. For the epithet “Mistress of the Nymphs,” see Orph. Hymn. 52. 22—25. Aphrodite Nymphaia
is discussed in Pausanias 2. 32. 7.
425. Himeros may be a personification of “the yearning of love.” See LSJ, s.v. “i /repos,” I. 3.
426. a£ui)cn? 9 , “you might ask,” could be emended to ere, “I ask you,” and perhaps read with
the following imperative as a part of the conjuration set in quotation marks. jR.D.K. |
427. The papyrus has afcre/Jope, which Prciscndanz reads as an unattested epithet aKTE(po)(3ope,
“eater of the unburied.”
PGMV. 1-53
101
back “lerthemino,” and on its breast “[s]abaoth,” and under its hooves “abra-
sax.” / Smear it with the blood of Typhon and a pig and with juice of an onion.
The spell of the brick to be written down is this :
“IO ERBETH IO PAKERBETH IO BOLCHOSETH IO BOLCHOSETH SABAOUM KOK~
LOTOM PATATHNAX, the shaker, IO ERBETH APOMPS IAOTH IABAOTH SEISAO
peukre, you fortunate one, tescho patonak phende / miepheor abirbolon-
chithi ROPHTHE aperma palelops, the shaker of the world, I call upon you,
great Typhon, 10 erbeth io pakerbeth io bolchoseth, because I am he, NN.
Hear me, in this business which I am performing lerthemino arouzoron
bathou / cbeasmephis, O great, great 428 Typhon lerthemino; attend this
magical operation which I am performing, because it is your great and honored
name that I am saying and writing, aberamenthoou” (formula).
Underneath the ass: “Give her the heaving of the sea, total wakefulness 429 of
Mendes, 430 and give her 431 the punishments.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil.
PGMV . 1 - 53 1
* Oracle of Sarapis, [by means of] a boy, by means of a lamp, saucer and bench: “I
call upon you, Zeus, Helios, Mithra, Sarapis, / unconquered one, Meliouchos,
Melikertes, Meligenetor, abraal bachambechi baibeizoth (ebai beboth)
SERIABEBOTH AMELCHIPSITHIOUTHIPOTHOIO PNOUTE NINTHERTEROU 2 IYEY
EOO AIEIA EEOIA / EEAI EYEIE OOOOO EYEO IAOAI BAKAXICHYCH BOSIPSETETH
PHOBEBIBOTH, the great, great 3 Sarapis samasphreth” (otherwise above) “o
DARGAZAS O DARMAGAS O DAPHAR YAKIABOTH EPHIA ZELEARTHAR (AKRABAEOE-
PHIAZALE ARBAMENOTHIEO SAMAS PHRETl) 4 / METHOMEOS LAMARMERA OPTEBI
ptebi marianou (akrabaeo ephiazele arbamenothi eo namisphreti), ap-
pear and give respect to him who appeared before fire and snow, bainchoooch,
for you are the one who introduced light and snow, hurler of shudderful / thunder
and lightning, kypodoicte pintouche etom thoout thasinaeak arouron-
goa paphtha 5 enosade iae iaoai aoiao eoey” (nine lettes): [Pronounce]:
the “a” with an open mouth, undulating like a wave;
the “o” succinctly, as a breathed threat,
the “iao” to earth, to air, and to heaven;
the “e” like a baboon;
the “o” in the same way as above; 6
the “e” with enjoyment, aspirating it, /
428. The repeated “great, great” is Egyptian geminatio. See also PGM 1. 41 and n.
429. E. Hohl, RhM 68 (1913) : 313, n. 4, restores [rr]avaypvTTt- i iaL> in accordance with Anth. Pal. 7.
195. 5, where Meleager has used TravaypvTrvoio /x.eptjua’Tjs. Both the noun and the verb are hapax
lecfomena. [E.N.O.J
430. Mendes corresponds to Egyptian B^-nb-Dd.t, the ram incarnation of Pre identified with Pan
and Priapus. See Bonnet, RAJiG 451, s.v. “Mendes”; 868—71, s.v. “Widdcr”; Herodotus 2. 46; Di-
odorus Sic. 1. 88; Strabo 16. 1. 19. [R.K.R.]
431. The translation follows Preisendanz in assuming that avrfj in 11. 3273—74 is rf) 8utm. But the
fact remains tfiat, while 6 Selva occurs in 1. 3248, nowhere in the spell is a woman mentioned. There is
really no indication that this spell is designed to affect a woman, until this last sentence. [E.N.O.]
1. Parentheses in this spell contain words that arc written between the lines. For further discussion
see Preisendanz, ad loc.
2. The phrase means “O god (of) all the gods.” Cf. PGM III. 144-45 and n.
3. For the meaning of “twice great,” see PGM IV. 3270 and n.
4. See 1. 46 below.
5. This is equivalent to “Thoth ... He of Ptah.” [R.K.R.]
6. According to Hopfner, OZ I, section 778, this means either as the “E” in 1. 27 or the “O” in 1. 25.
3260
3265
3270
5
10
15
20
25
102
PGM V. 54-69
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
the “y” like a shepherd, drawing out the pronunciation. 7
If he says, “I prophesy,” say: “Let the throne of god enter, thronouzatera kyma
KYMA LYAGEU APSITADRYS GE MOLIANDRON BONBLILON PEUCHRE, / let the
throne be brought in.” If it then is carried by 4 men, as, “With what are they
crowned, and what goes before the throne?” If he says, “They are crowned with
olive branches, and / a censer precedes,” [the] boy speaks the truth.
Dismissal : “Go, lord, to your own world and to your own thrones, to your own
vaults, and keep me and / this boy from harm, in the name of the highest god,
samas phreth. 8 ” Do this when the moon is in a settled sign, in conjunction with
beneficial planets or is in good houses, not when it is full; for it is / better, and in
this way the well-ordered oracle is completed. (But in other copies “when it is full”
has been written.)
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGMV. 54-69
* Direct vision spell: “eeim to eim alalep barbariath / menebreio arba-
thiaoth iouel IAEL oueneiie MESOMMIAS, let the god who prophesies to me
come and let him not go away until I dismiss him, ournaour soul zasoul /
OUGOT NOOUMBIAOU THABRAT BERIAOU ACHTHIRI MARAI ELPHEON TABAOTH
KIRASINA LAMPSOURE IABOE AB LAMATHANALB A AKRAMMACHAMAREI.”
In a bronze cup over oil. Anoint / your right eye with water from a shipwreck
and the left with Coptic eyepaint, with die same water. If you cannot find water
from a shipwreck, then from a sunken skiff.
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGMV . 70-95
*Take a plant cbelkbei (?) and bugloss, strain them, bum what you strain out, mix
[diem] well with juice, and write “choo ” 9 with it on a wall. Take gallows wood
and carve a hammer. With / the hammer strike the [eye] 10 while saying the for-
mula: “I conjure you hy the holy names; hand over the thief who made off with it,
CHALCHAK CHALKOLTM CHIAM CHARCHROUM ZBAR BERI ZBARKOM CHRE / KA-
riob pharibou, and by the shudderful names: A EE Bee iiii ooooo yyyyyy
ooooooo.”
“o
/ y y
IIII
EEEEE
E E E E E E
A A A A A A A
/ LAO OLA
IOA AEO
“A
E E
EEE
IIII
EEEEE
E E E E E E
A A A A A A A
EOA OAE.”
“Hand over the thief who stole it. As long as I strike the eye with this hammer, let
the eye of the thief be struck, and let it swell up until it / betrays him.” While saying
these things, strike widi the hammer.
*Tr.:W.C. Grese.
7. Presumably, the way the formula is to be spoken; see Preisendanz’s interpretation ad loc.
8. Samas is the Canaanite solar deity Shamash, combined here with die Egyptian counterpart Pre.
Cf. 11. 12-14 above.
9. choo could be Coptic KO which can mean “hand over,” or “put”; it would fit the sense of the
spell. [R.K.R.] ‘
10. Thus the emendation oyfrarioi') in Preisendanz, based on l. 91. Cf. the apparatus ad loc.
PGMV. 96-172
103
PGMV. 96—172
* Stele of Jeu the hieroglyphist 11 in his letter:
“I summon you, Headless One, who created earth and heaven, who created
night and day, / you who created light and darkness; you are Osoronnophris whom 100
none has ever seen; you are Iabas; you are Iapos; you have distinguished the just
and the unjust; you have made female and male; / you have revealed seed and fruits; 105
you have made men love each other and hate each other.
“I am Moses your prophet to whom you have transmitted your mysteries /
celebrated by Israel; you have revealed the moist and the dry and all nourishment; 110
hear me.
“I am the messenger of Pharaoh Osoronnophris; / this is your true name which 115
has been transmitted to the prophets of Israel. Hear me, arbathiao reibet
ATHELEBERSETH [ARA] BLATHA ALBEU EBENPHCHI CHITASGOE IBAOTH IAO; /
listen to me and turn away this daimon .” 120
“I call upon you, awesome and invisible god with an empty spirit, 12 arogogo-
robrao sochou modorio phalarchao ooo. Holy Headless One, deliver him,
NN, from the daimon which restrains him, / roubriao mari odam baabna- 125
baoth ass adonai aphniao itholeth abrasax aeooy; mighty Headless One,
deliver him, NN, from the daimon which restrains him. / mabarraio ioel kotha 130
athorebalo abraoth, deliver him, NN aoth abraoth basym isak sabaOth
iao. /
“He is the lord of the gods; he is the lord of the inhabited world; he is the one 135
whom the winds fear; he is the one who made all things by the command of his
voice.”
“Lord, King, Master, Helper, / save the soul, ieou pyr iou pyr iaot iaeO 140
ioou abrasax sabriam oo yy ey oo yy adonaie, immediately, immediately, 13
good messenger of God anlala lai gala apa diachanna choryn.” /
“I ant the headless daimon with my sight in my feet; [I am] the mighty one [who 145
possesses] the immortal fire; I am the truth who hates the fact that unjust deeds arc
done in the world; I am the one who makes the lightning flash and die thunder
roll; / 1 am the one whose sweat is the heavy rain 14 which falls upon the earth that it 150
might be inseminated; I am the one whose mouth bums completely; I am the one
who begets and destroys; / 1 am the Favor of the Aion; my name is a heart encircled 155
by a serpent; come forth and follow.”
Preparation for the foregoing ritual : Write the formula 15 on a new sheet of pa-
pyrus, and after extending it from one / of your temples to the other, read the 6 160
names, while you face north saying,
“Subject to me all daimons, / so that every daimon, whether heavenly or aerial or 165
earthly or subterranean or terrestrial or aquatic, might be obedient to me and every
enchantment and scourge which is from God.” / And all daimons will be obedient 170
to you.
The beneficial sign is : >
*Tr.: D. E. Aune.
11. The term £&>ypdcpos, usually translated “painter,” is here rendered “hieroglyphist,” after die sug-
gestion of Wiinsch (see Preiscndanz, apparatus ad loc.).
12. On the notion of “empty’ spirit,” see J. Reiling, Hernias and Christian Prophecy , NTS 37 (Leiden:
Brill, 1973) 41-48.
13. The letters 178 s bSe arc indicated in Preiscndanz as magical words, but they may' be Greek mis-
spelled for 17817 17817 , “immediately', immediately.”
14. Cf. the expression ri 8 wp oxcvtlkoo in C.H. I. 17. Sec also Dieterich, Abraxas 25.
15. The term ovofia apparently refers to a formula containing a number of magical words. Sec also
the apparatus ad loc.
104
PGM V. 172-212
PGMV. 172-212
* Another way : 16 “In order to catch a thief I summon you, Hermes, 17 immortal
175 god, who cut a furrow down Olympos / and a holy barge, light-bearer Iao, the
great immortal, shuddersome indeed to behold and shuddersome to hear. Hand
over the thief whom I seek aberamenthooulerthexenaxsonelysothne-
180 mareba.” / This formula is to be said 2 times during the purificatory sacrifice.
Formula of bread and cheese : 18 “Come to me, lissoin materna mauerte pre-
185 ptektioun intikious olokotous periklysai; / may you bring back to me
what is lost and point out the thief today. I call upon Hermes, finder of thieves,
190 Helios and the pupils 19 of Helios, / two who bring to light lawless deeds, and
Themis, 20 Erinys, 21 Ammon, and Parammon, to take control of the thief’s throat
195 and to single him out / today, in this hour.”
Preparation : The same formula during the purificatory sacrifice: Take a faience
vessel, add water, myrrh, and calf’s-snout plant. Wet a branch of laurel [and sprin-
200 kle], / cleansing each one. Take a tripod and place it on an earthen altar, offer
myrrh, frankincense, and a frog’s tongue. Take unsalted winter wheat and goat-/
205 cheese, and give to each 8 drams of winter wheat and 8 drams of cheese while say-
ing the following formula (inscribe this name and glue it underneath the tripod):
210 “Master iao, light-bearer, / hand over the thief whom I see.” If one of them does
not swallow what was given to him, he is the thief.
*Tr.: W. C. Grese.
PGMV. 213-303
215 * Hermes’ ring . 22 Preparation of a scarab: Taking a scarab / engraved as described
below, put it on a papyrus table and put under the table a clean sheet and olive
220 twigs, scattering them about, and in the middle of the table / a small censer, burn-
ing myrrh and kyphi. Have ready a little faience vessel in which there should be salve
225 of lilies or myrrh or cinnamon. / And taking the ring put it into the salve, having in
advance purified [it?] 23 from everything, and burning on the censer die kyphi and
myrrh. Leave [the ring] 3 days and, taking it 24 [from the table], put it in a pure
230 place. Have at hand / for the consecration pure bread and whatever fruits are in
season. When you have made another [incense] offering on [a fire of] grapevine
235 twigs, during the offering take the ring from the / salve and put it on. Anoint your-
self at dawn with die ointment from it and stand facing the sunrise [and] say the
spell given below.
240 Carving of a scarab: Carve a scarab in costly green stone / and, having pierced
[the stone], thread it with gold [wire?]. On the underside of the scarab engrave holy
16. That is, another spell to catch a thief. Originally this spell may have followed immediately after
PGM V. 70-95 (a spell to catch a thief), hut the Stele ofjeu (V. 96-172) was inserted between the two.
17. On Hermes, the god of thieves, see Dieterich, Abraxas 63; W. Fauth, “Hermes/' KP 2 (1975) :
1074—75. On the identification with iao (11. 176— 77), see A. A. Barb, “Three Elusive Amulets,” JWCI
27 (1964): 1-6.
18. See on this peculiar form of magic P. dc Labrioilc, “Artvrotyritac,” RAC 1 (1950) : 718-20.
19. For the “eye of Helios,” see PGM IV. 2985 and n.
20. Themis is the personified Greek concept of justice, custom, and social law. See K. Latte,
“Themis,” PRE, 2nd series 5 (1934) : 1626-30.
21. On the Erinys, see PGM IV. 2860 and n.
22. Ori'Hcrmes’ ring, see Hopfner, OZ II, secs. 294-95.
23. Presumably the ring, but the reference could be to the practitioner himself, or even to the salve.
The Greek gives no indication of the object.
24. I.e., that in which it was laid.
PGM V. 213-303
105
Isis. And when you have consecrated it as written above, use it. The days in which
it is proper to perform [the rite] are, [counting] from the rise / [of die new moon] 245
the 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 21st, 24th, 25th. On the others, restrain
vourself.
The spell to be said to Helios : “I am Thouth, discoverer and founder of drugs and
letters. Come to me, you under the earth; arouse [yourself] for me, / great daimon, 250
he of Noun, 25 the subterranean” (or [in odier texts]: c the [plural] Noun the subter-
ranean’). I am the famous Heron, 26 egg of the ibis, 27 egg of the falcon, egg of die
air-ranging Phoenix, having under my tongue the mud of Em; 28 / I wear the hide of 255
Keph. 29 Unless I know what is in the minds of everyone, Egyptians, Greeks, Syr-
ians, Ethiopians, of every race and people, unless I know 30 what / has been and 260
what shall be, unless I know their skills and their practices and their works and their
lives, and the names of them and of their fathers and / mothers and brothers and 265
friends, even of those now dead, I will pour the blood of the black dog- face 31 as a
drink offering in a new, fauldess jar and put it on a new base and bum under it the
bones of Hesies, 32 and I will shout 33 / in the port of Busiris that he remained in the 270
river 3 days and 3 nights, Hesies, that he was carried by the current of the river /
into the sea, that he was surrounded by the waves of the sea and by the mist of the 275
air. Your belly is eaten by fish, and I will not / stop the fish chewing your body with 280
their mouths, nor will the fish shut their mouths. I will take the fatherless boy away
from his mother. 34 The pole [of the sky] will be brought down, 35 and the two
mountains will be one. / 1 will let anoixis 36 loose against you and she will do what 285
25. PHNOYN refers to the primordial abyss; cf. PGM III. 554 and IV. 139. PHNOYN is the Bohairic
spelling of the definite article before noyn used as a vocative. [R.K.R.] Sec also Bonnet, RARG
535-36, s.v. “Nun*
26. Heron was a god of Greco- Roman Egypt, apparendy a fusion of the “Thracian rider god” and
the Egyptian god Atum; the name has no connection with the English bird name or the bird so called.
[M.S. ] See Bonnet, RARG 295-96, s.v. “Heron.”
27. For the egg of the ibis, sec Bonnet, RARG 321, s.v. “Ibis”; 162—64, s.v. “Ei”; Bergman, Isis-
Seek und Osiris-Ei 76— 87.
28. For this name, sec PGM III. 636; V. 353. For possible explanations, see Preiscndanz, vol. Ill,
index, p. 219, s.v. “’E/z.”
29. This name is unexplained; for suggestions, see Preiscndanz, vol. Ill, index, p. 259 s.v. “ kk<p .” Em
may be an abbreviation of Ammon, and Keph of Kynokephalos, i.e., baboon, symbol of Thoth, with
whom the magician identified himself at the beginning of the spell. [M.S.]
30. For this threat against die deity see J. Bergman, “Mystische Anklangc in den altagyptischen
Vorstellungen von Gott und Welt,” in Mysticism , Scripta Instituti Donnenani Aboensis 5 (1970) : 70- 72.
31. The translation of the term follows the emendation in Preiscndanz; see the apparatus ad loc.
Clearly Anubis is meant. Sec also Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride 317—19; idem, The Isis-Book
215-18. The reference is to the dog-headed god Anubis, assistant of Osiris, Isis, and Horns. It is not
Thoth because (1) the magician has identified himself with Thoth; (2) this god face is “black,” as Anubis
commonly is in Egyptian paintings, whereas the Kynokephalos (“dog-headed,” s.c. baboon) of Thoth is
commonly tan. [M.S.]
32. For the name Hesies, sec Glossary, s.v. “Esies.”
33. For the myth recounted here, cf. Plutarch, Dels, et Os. 13, 356C-D, and the commentary by
Griffiths, Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride 312. For the threat to Busiris, cf. P. Smither, “A Ramcsside Love-
Charm,” JEA 27 (1941): 131-32.
34. The fatherless boy is Horus; the mother, Isis. Cf. PGM III. 543.
35. For toppling the supports in heaven, cf. PGM III. 537—38; IV. 669. The two mountains of east
and west (Bakhu and Manu) form the horizons of Egyptian cosmography; they derive from the moun-
tains framing the Nile valley. See Bonnet, RARG 78, s.v. “Bachu”; 440; s.v. “Manu.” |R.K.R.]
36. The papyrus has avot^to from ciooigts, “opening.” The reference is obscure; it may refer to an
unknown mythical or ritual item or it may be a corruption of the text. Sec the apparatus ad loc.; LSJ, s.v.
106
PGM V. 304-69
she wants. I will not let god or goddess give oracles until I, NN, know through and
290 through what is in the minds of all men, Egyptians, / Syrians, Greeks, Ethiopians,
of every race and people, those who question me and come into my sight, whether
295 they speak or are silent, so that I can tell them / whatever has happened and is hap-
pening and is going to happen to them, and I know their skills and their lives and
300 their practices and their works and their names / and those of their dead, and of
everybody, and I can read a sealed letter 37 and tell them everything [in it] truly.”
:, 'Tr.: Morton Smith. How to carve, consecrate, and use a scarab; with the spell to be said
when using it. Though the scarab is engraved with Isis and the spell is addressed to Helios,
the ring is said to be “of: Hermes” because the spell first identifies die magician with Hcrmes-
Thoth. As Thoth he invokes Osiris (die Nile) from die underworld waters, to reveal to him
all facts relevant to all men, and he threatens that, unless he receives this knowledge, he will
destroy die remains of Osiris’ body, reveal his mysteries, and generally upset the divine order.
PGMV. 304—69
305 *' Taking hieratic papyrus or a / lead lamella and iron ring, put the ring on the pa-
pyrus and with a pen draw the outlines of the ring, inside and outside, then tint the
310 outlined area with myrrhed ink, then write on this outlined area / of the ring —
writing on the papyrus — the name, 38 and write the characters outside [the area],
then, [in the circle] inside it, what you want not to happen, and “Let so-and-so’s
315 thoughts be bound so that he may not do NN thing.” Then / putting the ring on
its oudine, which you made, and turning up the [areas of the papyrus] outside the
outline, wrap up the ring until it is completely covered. Piercing [the package]
320 through the characters / with the pen and tying it, say, “I bind NN with regard to
NN [thing]. Let him not speak, not be contrary, not oppose; let him not be able to
325 look me in the face nor speak against me; let him be subjected / to me, so long as
this ring is buried. I bind his mind and his brains , 39 his desire, his actions, so that he
330 may be slow [in his dealings] with all men.” / And if it be a woman: “In order that
she, NN, may not marry him, NN” (add the usual). Then, taking it [the package]
away to the grave of someone untimely dead, dig [a hole] four fingers deep and put
335 it in and say, “Spirit of the dead, who[ever] / you are, I give over NN to you, so that
he may not do NN thing.” Then, when you have filled up the hole, go away. Better
do it when the moon is waning.
The things to be written inside the circle [ bounded by the inner side of die ring’s
340 oudine] are these-, “aroa / mathra ereschigalch ejdanta iabou ne are iao
darykno maniel, let NN thing not be done so long as this ring is buried.” Bind
345 [the package] with ties, [using] cords you have made, / and thus deposit it. The
[wrapped] ring may also be thrown into an unused well, or [into the grave] of
[anyone dead] untimely. After the characters, write also the following, under the
350 [outline of the] ring, as a rectangle: “archool lailam / semesilamph ammo-
phorion ioae phthouth eo phre, the greatest daimon, iao sabaoth ar-
BATHIAO LAItAM OSORNOPHRI EM PHRE PHRE PHTHA CHROIO IAO BABOURE
355 THIMAM EN PHRE RE/NOUSI SABAOTH BARBARTHIAO THACHRA OUCHEETH
u avoi% 19 “; Griffiths, Plutarch’s De hide ct Osiride 522, 523, 536 for the ritual of the “Opening of the
mouth.”
37 . For the magical ability to read sealed letters, see the talc of Khamvvas in Licit theim. Ancient Egyp-
tian Literature III, 142-51. [ R. K. R. ]
38. Given below, 11. 339-41.
39. In Greek, “the midriff,” representing the classical term for the supposed location of the thinking
element of the body. [M.S.]
PGM V. 370-446
107
esornophri” and the entire 59 [letter formula] above, 40 which you also put inside
[the circle bounded by the ring’s outline] , 41
s>
.X
AROAHATHRA
ERESCH IGAL PHE DANYH W
IABOUME KANE 1AO
DARYNKO maniel,
i et whatever I wish not
take place; let her, N N,
not get married,
forever/
o
/v
/yTTEi/
[The same schedule can be written on a lead lamella; then, putting the / ring in
[the middle] and folding up [the lead] around it, cover [it] with plaster. After the
rectangle underneath [write] also the iaeo formula 42 and the following: “bakaxi-
chych menebaichych abrasax AO, prevent NN thing,” [or], as the names are
found in the authentic [text]: / “arphool lailam semesilam iaeo (formula)
BAKAXICHYCH ABRASAX AO ARCHOMILAK MENESILAM IAEO OYO BAKAXICHYCH
abrasax on, prevent the NN thing.”
*Tr.: Morton Smith. This untitled text gives directions for a familiar type of magical rite
called defixio — essentially sending a letter to underworld powers to ask or compel them to do
something to a specified victim. Many defixiones are, like this one, intended to prevent things
from happening. The gods invoked here are a curious lot — solar and subterranean, Hebrew,
Egyptian, and Mesopotamian, suggesting that the text has grown, like many, by ignorant
additions.
360
365
PGMV. 370—446
*Take 28 leaves from a pithy laurel tree 43 and some virgin earth and seed of worm- 370
wood, wheat meal and die herb calf’s-snout 44 (but I have heard 43 from a certain
40. This refers to the top of the papyrus page, where the scribe has written on the margin, with a few
errors, the formula iaeobapiirenemoUNOTHILARIKRIPhiaeu and the same letters (without the final
U) in reverse order. Together they form a fifty-nine-letter palindrome which often occurs in magical
texts, mainly in spells to the solar deities. [M.S. j ,
41. (On the drawing): the reading of the third line in the circle from th on, including the letters
nin (?) written above, is uncertain. If phthanni is read, Phtha contains the name of the Egyptian
god revered as creator. [M.S.]
42. See 11. 366—69 and the picture, 1. 357. The palindrome is also printed in Prciscndanz, apparatus
to 1. 357.
43. Of. on this point PGM I. 264.
44. On this plant see PGM V. 198 and III. 468.
45. Undoubtedly, these are the words of a redactor, bur expressions in the first person (here and
1. 383) are rare. More often such variants are introduced bv oi8s . . . (cf. 1. 390). [E.N.O.]
108
PGM V. 370-446
375
380
385
390
395
400
405
410
415
man of Herakleopolis that he takes 28 new sprouts from an olive tree, / which is
cultivated, the famous one). Those are carried 46 by an uncorrupted boy. 47 Also
pounded together with the foregoing ingredients is the liquid of an ibis egg 48 and
made into a uniform dough and into a figure of Hermes wearing a mantle, while
the moon is ascending in Aries or Leo or / Virgo or Sagittarius. Let Hermes be
holding a herald’s staff And write the spell on hieratic papyrus or on a goose’s
windpipe (again, just as I heard from the man of Herakleopolis), and insert it into
the figure for the purpose of / inspiration; and when you want to use it, take some
papyrus and write the spell and the matter; and shave your head 49 and foil a hair
into the papyrus, binding it with a piece from a purple cord, and put on the outside
of it an olive branch, and / place it 50 at the feet of the Hermes (but others say: place
it upon hint). And let the figure lie in a shrine of lime wood. But when you want to
use it, place the shrine beside your head / along widi the god and recite as on the
altar you burn incense, earth from a grain-bearing field and one lump of rock salt.
Let it rest beside your head, and go to sleep after saying the spell without giving an
answer to anyone. /
“Hermes, 51 lord of the world, who’re in the heart,
O circle of Selene, spherical
And square, the founder of the words of speech.
Pleader of justice’s cause, garbed in a mantle, 52
With winged sandals, turning airy course /
Beneath earth’s depths, who hold the spirit’s reins,
O eye of Helios, O mighty one.
Founder of full-voiced speech, 53 who with your lamps
Give joy to those beneath earth’s depths, to mortals
Who’ve finished life. 54 / The prophet of events
And Dream divine you’re said to be, who send
Forth oracles by day and night; you cure
All pains of mortals with your healing cares.
Hither, O blessed one, O mighty son
Of Memory, / who brings full mental powers.
In your own form both graciously appear
And graciously render the task for me,
A pious man, and render your fomi gracious
46. Apparently the subject of fUaerTu^sTca is all the ingredients named above. [E.N.O.]
47. See on this medium of die “uncorrupted boy” PGM II. 56; V. 87; VII. 544, and T. Hopfner,
“Die Kindermedien in den gricch isch-agyptischen Zaubcrpapyri,” in Recueil d’etudes dediees ii la memoire
de N. P. Kondakov (Prague: Seminarium Kondakovianum, 1926) 65—74; R. Ganschinietz, Hippolytos’
Capitelgegen die Magier, Refut. baer. IV. 28-42 , TU 39/3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1913) 30, 32—33.
48. See on this point PGM V. 252 and n.
49. This is done in imitation of Egyptian priests. See S. Saucmon, The Priests of Ancient Egypt (New
York: Grove Press, 1960) 37. On the shaving of the head by the initiates of Isis, sec Apuleius, Met. 11.
28; Plutarch, De Is. et Os. 3—4, 352C; and Griffiths, Plutarch’s De lside et Osiridc 268—69.
50. For hair sacrifices in Egyptian religion, see Bonnet, RARG 267—68, s.v. “Haatopfer”; Betz,
Lukian 131, n. 3.
51. Although the text of the following lines is quite fragmentary, enough remains to show that they
arc dactylic hexameters. Consequently they have been accepted as one version of die reconstructed
Hymns 15-16, II. 1 — 15; see Preisendanz, vol. II, p. 429. This version is, however, vert' different from
that in PGM VII. 668-80 and XVIIb. 1-23. [E.N.O.]
52. Cf. 1. 378 above.
53. A repetition of the idea expressed in 1. 402.
54. A reference to the role of Hermes as the guide of the dead to the underworld.
PGM V. 459-89
109
To me, NN,
That I may comprehend you by your skills
Of prophecy, by your own wond’rous deeds. /
I ask you, lord, be gracious to me and
Without deceit appear and prophesy to me.”
Recite this both at sunrise and moonrise.
The stele written on the papyri belonging to the figure: “yesennigadon ortho
BAUBO / NOERE KODERE SOIRE SOIRE SAN KANT HA RA ERESCHIGAL ANKISTE
DODEKAKISTE AKROUROBORE 55 KODERE SEMEA KENTEU KONTEU KENTEU KERI-
DEU DARYGKO LYKYNXYNTA KAMPYCHRE IRINOTON LOUMANATA . / . . ION KO-
MANDRON CHREIBACHA NOUBACHA NOUMILLON EROUPHI TETROUPHI LIBINOU
NOUMILLON CHANDARA TON PHERPHEREU D ROGER MAROUER” (say it 3 times,
then / the usual formula).
Spell of compulsion: “oukra noukra petirinode tmaisia, terrible-eyed, dry-
salpips blemennithen bandyodma tripsada ariba . . . ta kratarna” (then
the hundred-lettered name of Hermes). . . . 56
/ Another : “ioukraioniou (spoken to the lamp) ochmarmacho tonnourai
CHREMILLON DERKYON NIA IAO SOUMPSEPHISON SOUMPSENIS SIASIAS IAO, you
who shake the world, come in and prophesy / concerning the NN matter, thois
KOTOTH PHTHOUPHNOUN NOUEBOUE.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil. For a discussion of 11. 370-439, see Hopfner, OZ II, section 174.
PGM V. 447-58
* On a jasperlike agate engrave Sarapis seated, facing forwards (?), holding an Egyp-
tian royal scepter and on the scepter an ibis, and on the back of tire stone / the
[magical] name [of Sarapis?], and keep it shut up. When need [arises] hold the ring
in your left hand, and in your right a spray of olive and laurel [twigs], waving them
toward the lamp while saying the spell 7 times. And when you have put / [the ring]
on the index finger of your left hand with the stone inside, [keep it] thus and, going
oft' 57 [to bed] without speaking to anybody, go to sleep holding the stone to your
left ear.
*Tr.: Morton Smith.
PGMV. 459—89
* Another way: “I call upon you who created / earth and bones 58 and all flesh and
all spirit and who established the sea and suspended (?) 59 die heavens, who sepa-
rated 60 the light from the darkness, die Supreme Intelligence 61 / who lawfully ad-
55. Cf. on this formula the Glossary, s.v. “yessimmigadon/akrourobore formula.”
56. The name is missing here, but the papyrus left space for its insertion later. Cf. the apparatus ad
loc. For one-hundred- letter names, see PGM IV. 242, 1209, 1380.
57. Reading the papyrus cctte* - as an abbreviation of ctTrspxdjJLEVos; rather than Preisendanz’s octts-
Xo/A£i'os, which would be awkward Greek. Sec the apparatus ad loc. (M.S.]
58. See on this point LXX Jb 10:9—11.
59. The text is corrupt at this point; for suggested emendations, see the apparatus ad loc. Cf. Prei-
sendanz’s translation: “der . . . festgenagelt hat den Himmel”; Festugicre, La Revelation IV, 90: “solide-
ment cloue le del.”
60. Cf. Gn 1 : 4, 14, 18; Wisd Sol. 7 : 29-30. See Blau, Das altjiidische Zaubenvesen 107; Festugicre,
La Revelation IV. 190.
61. The concept of the divine Nus (Mind) is an influence from Greek philosophy. Cf. also PGM
XIII. 173, 4S7. See Plutarch, Dels, et Os. 49, 37IA; C. H. I. 2, 6, 9; X. 19-21; XIII. 21. See J. Dillon,
The Middle Platonists (London: Duckworth, 1977) 283, 372, 382, 389, 391, 393; Reitzenstein, Poi-
mandres 279, n. 2; Bousset, Religionsgeschichtliche Studien 199-200 and index, s.v. “Nus, Nous.”
420
425
430
435
440
445
450
455
460
465
110
PGM Va. 1-3
ministrates 62 all things. Eternal Eye, Daimon of daimons, god of gods, the lord of
the spirits, the invariable aion iAO oyei, hear my voice.
470 / “I call upon you, master of the gods, high-thundering Zeus, sovereign Zeus,
adonai, lord iao oyee; I am he who calls upon you, great god, in Syrian: ‘zaa-
475 laeriphphou,’ and you must not / ignore my voice (in Hebrew: ‘ablanatha-
nalba abrasiloa’); for I am silthachoouch lailam blasaloth lao ieo
480 NEBOUTH SABIOTH ARBOTH ARBATHIAO IAOTH SABAOTH PA/tOURJE ZAGOURE
barouch adonai eloai abraAm 63 barbarauo nausiph, high-minded one, im-
mortal, who possess the crown of the whole [world], siepe saktiete biou biou
485 SPHE SPHE NOUSI NOUSI / SIETHO SIETHO CHTHETHONI RIGGH OEA E EOA AOE
IAO ASIAL SARAPI OLSO ETHMOURESINI SEM LAU LOU LOURIGCH.”
It loosens shackles, makes invisible, sends dreams; [it is] a spell for gaining favor.
(Add the usual for what you want. )
*Tr.: D. E. Aune.
PGM Va. 1-3
* cc O Helios berbeloch chthOthomi ach sandoum echnin zagouel, bring
me into union with you” (add the usual). Then anoint yourself, and you will have a
direct vision.
*Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr.
PGM VI. 1-47
*. . . His encounter with Helios [takes place] on the 2 nd, but the invocation itself
is spoken when [the moon] is full. But you will accomplish a better encounter at
[sun]rise on the 4 th, when the god is on the [increase , 1 from the ground floor of a
5 house]. Say, therefore, to the rising sun 2 / [the following] prayer:
“[Laurel ,] 3 Apollo’s holy plant [of presage.
Which] Phoebus [tasted once] and with [the fresh-
Cut] branches wreathed his [holy] head, adorned
With tresses long [and golden]. In his hands
10 He shook [a scepter] 7 on the [peaks of Mount
Parnassus], lofty and with many vales
[And gave to all] the gods 4 [responses] and
To mortals prophesied. [For in the throes
Of grievous love], it was Apollo who
Himself [gave you, a nymph], dread virgin, power
[To utter presages. Come quickly hither
62. The doctine of Sioucqox? points to philosophical influence. Cf. also LXX Wisd Sol. 8 : 1; Philo,
De opif. mundi 3; De spec. leg. IV. 187; C. H. I. 9. See Fcstugicre, Let Revelation IV, 190, n. 3.
63. The Greek underlying these magical words corresponds in part to the Jewish blessing, “Blessed
be Jahwe, . . . god ot Abraham. ...” It is not clear whether or not the magician understood these words.
A similar formula written in Greek occurs on a gold lamella published by R. G. Collingwood and R.. P.
Wright, The Roman Inscriptions of Britain / (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965), n. 436. See also Blau, Das
altjiidischc Zaubcrwesen 106—7.
1. An apparent reference to the spring, when the davs grow longer. Cf. PGM XIII. 388-91.
[E.N.O.]
2. The sun is identical with the god Helios; see Glossary, s.v.
3. These dactvlic hexameters (11. 6—21) are also the reconstructed Hvmn 13. See Preisendanz, vol. II,
p. 248. PGM Vf 6-7 (Hymn 13. 1-2) also appear at PGM II. 81-82 (Hymn 11. 1-2), and 1. 6 also
appears at PGM VI. 40 (Hymn 14.1). [E.N.O.]
4. In Hymn 13. 6 Preisendanz has changed sot? to
PGM VI. 1-47
111
To me beseeching you] in holy measures 5 /
[And] in my hands holding [a laurel leaf]. 6 15
Send me [divine responses] and a holy
Prophetic sign. In lucid [words], O priestess,
[Reveal all things]: both [when this will occur]
And how it will be done. [Give me a presage,]
So that with it [I may perform a test]
On [anything. / Subduer, hither come! 20
Lo you,] mankind’s Subduer, mankind’s [force!
Come, blessed Paian,] 7 most supreme, [help] me;
[Come hither to me, golden-tressed], ieo.
E’en thou, Paian, [the very lord of song.
Come thou to me,] O Phoibos, many-named.
O Phoibos, / sing out clear with presages, 25
Phoibos Apollo, Leto’s son, far-worker.
Hither, come hither, hither come; respond
With prophecies, give presage in night’s hour.”
Then speak, declaiming 8 this: “ee ie ie ei io . . . iaoie iye ia iao e . . . ouo.”
Then at sunset make your request again: /
“Hear me, god of the silver bow, who stand 30
Protector of Chryse and holy Cilia 9
And are the mighty lord of Tenedos,
Gold-shining, hurricane and dragon-slayer,
MESEGKRIPHI, 10 Leto’s SOn, SIAOTH,
SABAOTH, MELIOUCHOS, ruler, PEUCHftE,
Night-wanderer, seseggen, barpharagges, /
ARJBETHO, god of many forms, O thou 35
Who’re fond of chariots, 11 arbathiao
Smintheus, if e’er I’ve roofed a pleasing shrine
For you, or if I’ve ever burned for you
Fat thighs of bulls or goats, grant this my prayer.” 12
And in the same way in his encounter with Selene, as follows: /
“Laurel, 13 Apollo’s holy plant of presage, 40
5. “In holy measures” translates ispoiai 7re5t\ois. Although Prciscndanz says “auf heiligen San-
dalcn,” this sense has no place in the passage: first, the word order suggests that the phrase goes closely
with pot Xuro-opsvM (“to me as I pray”); second. Daphne’s mythology seems to have nothing to do
with sandals (cf. L. von Sybcl, in Roschcr I [1884—86] 954—55, s.v. “Daphne,” although the article
omits this passage and PGM in general); and third, this passage is hymnic, and one meaning of tteSiXov
(as the diminuitive of trow?) is “meter,” “measure,” for which cf. Pindar, O. 3.5 and 6. 8. [E.N.O.]
6. The mixing of the plant and the goddess in this hymn is another good example of the thin line
between inanimate objects and personified spirits of these objects. Cf. csp. II. 40—41 below. [E.N.O.]
7. These dactylic hexameters (11. 22-38), many of which arc metrically faulty, are the reconstructed --
Hymn 10; see Preisendanz, vol. II, pp. 244-45. LI. 24-27 (Hymn 10. 4-6) appear, in slightly altered
form, at PGM II. 2-4 (Hymn 9. 1-3). [E.N.O. )
8. The translation is problematic, but cf. perhaps Plutarch, Mar. 131A; Cic. 4, 862F. [E.N.O. j
9. Cf. Homer, II. I. 37-38.
10. The voces magicae in these verses are intended to be a part of the verses. The translation attempts
to treat them in the same way, but some liberties must be taken. [E.N.O.]
11. iftXctppctTK, “fond of chariots,” is the reading in Hymn 10. 12; the papyrus has <piXaip.a.7E ,
“fond of blood.” [E.N.O.]
12. Cf. Homer, 11. 1. 39-41.
13. These dactylic hexameters arc also the reconstructed Hymn 14; see Preisendanz, vol. II, p. 248.
PGM VI. 40 (Hymn 14. I) also appears at PGM II. 81 (Hymn 1 1. 1) and VI. 6 (Hymn 13. 1). [E.N.O.]
112
PGM VII. 1-148
O virgin Laurel, Laurel, Phoibos’ mistress,
SABAOTH 14 IAOAOO IAGCHOTHIPYLA MOYSIARCHA 13 OTONYPON
Hither to me come quickly; haste to sing
Divine precepts to me [and to proclaim
Pure words] and in dark night [bring me true sayings]. 16 /
45 RESABAAN AAN . . . ANA AANANAANANALAAA AAA AAA. 17
It is for you, O Delios, O Nomios, O son of Leto and Zeus, to give persuasive
oracles at night as you recount the truth through dream oracles.”
*Tr.: E. N. O’Neil. This papyrus is badly mutilated, and little is gained by offering a transla-
tion of the scattered words and phrases that remain. Instead, for the three verse passages, the
reconstructed texts of Hymns 10, 13, 14 have been used. Additional information appears at
VI. 6, 22, and 40. [E.N.O.]
PGM VII. 1-148
* Homer oracle:
L
1-1-1
But on account of their accursed bellies they have miserable woes,
[Od. 15. 344]
2.
1-1-2
neither to cast anchor stones nor to attach stern cables, [Od. 9. 137]
3.
1-1-3
being struck by the sword, and the water was becoming red with
blood. [II. 21. 21]
4.
1-1-4
5.
1-1-5
stood holding a scepter, which Hephaistos produced by his labors.
[II. 2. 101]
6.
1-1-6
7.
1-2-1
amends I wish to make and to give a boundless ransom. [II. 9. 120;
19. 138]
8.
1-2-2
surely then the gods themselves have ruined your mind. [II. 7. 360;
12. 234]
9.
1-2-3
10.
1-2-4
.
11.
1-2-5/.
let it lie in the great hall. And I wish for your happy arrival [Od. 15.
128]
12.
1-2-6
.
13.
1-3-1
.
14.
1-3-2
,
15.
1-3-3
But Zeus does not accomplish for men all their purposes. [II. 18.
328]
16.
1-3-4
I would even wish it, and it would be much better [II. 3. 41; Od. 11.
358; 20. 316]
17.
1-3-5
Then indeed would he smash all your fine show, [Od. 17. 244]
18.
1-3-6
I also care about all these things, woman. But very terribly [II. 6.
441]
19.
1-4-1
20.
1-4-2
speaking good things, but they were contriving evil things in their
hearts. [Od. 17. 66]
14. The voces magicae in these lines make no pretense of being verse and for that reason are omitted
from Hymn 14. [E.N.O.]
15. Cf. the epithet 6 Moixrapyo?, “leader of the Muses,” belonging to Apollo. See LSJ, s.v.
16. See Hymn 14. 4-5 in Prciscndanz, vol. II, p. 248.
17. The voces magicae here appear immediately after “in dark night” in the papyrus, but because of
the addition of two half-lines in Hymn 14, it is more convenient to complete the translation of the hymn
before giving these voces. [E.N.O.]
PGM VII. 1-148
113
21 .
22 .
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
1-4-3 The glorious gifts of the gods are surely not to be cast aside, [II. 3.
65]
1-4-4 .
1-4-5 .
1-4-6 These things, Zeus-nurtured Skamander, will be as you order. [II.
21. 223]
1-5-1 a joy to your enemies, and a disgrace to yourself? [II. 3. 51]
1-5-2 Within this very year, Odysseus will arrive here, [Od. 14. 161; 19.
306]
1-5-3 No use indeed to you, since you will not lie clad in them, [II. 22.
513]
1-5-4 And to the victor are to go the woman and the possessions. [II. 3.
255]
1-5-5 The rule of the many is no good. Let there be one ruler, [II. 2. 204]
1-5-6 And the gateway is full of ghosts, and full also is the courtyard, [Od.
20. 355 f
1-6-1 We have won great honor. We have killed glorious Hektor, [27. 22.
393]
1-6-2 Who would undertake and complete this task for ? [II. 10. 303]
1-6-3 Not even if his gifts to me should be as numerous as the grains of
sand and particles of dust, [II. 9. 385]
1-6-4 ...
1- 6-5 .
1 - 6-6 .
2- 1-1 For no island is made for driving horses or has broad meadows,
[Od. 4. 607]
2-1-2 in the past, when you were boys, did you listen to your [Od. 4. 688]
2-1-3 ...
2-1-4 .
2-1-5 .
2- 1-6 His gifts are hateful to me, and I honor him not a whit. [II. 9. 378]
2-2-1 an only beloved heir to many possessions, [II. 9. 482; Od. 16. 19
(?)]
2 - 2-2 . . . '
2-2-3 .
2-2-4 .
2-2-5 So they thronged about him. And near [Od. 24. 19]
2-2-6 and fashioning lies out of what nobody could see. [Od. 11. 366]
2-3-1 be valiant, that later generations may also speak well of you. [Od. 1.
302]
2-3-2 leaning on the grave marker over a barrow heaped up by men [II. 11.
371]
2-3-3 go. You have a way, and beside the sea your ships [II. 9. 43]
2-3-4 You will be proved a liar, and will not go on to fulfill your word. [II.
19. 107]
2-3-5 And his mother for her part continued the lament amid a flood of
tears, [//. 22. 79]
2-3-6 Not even if remaining for five or six years [Od. 3. 115]
2-4-1 So he spoke, and ordered Paion to administer a cure. [77. 5. 899]
2-4-2 These things, unhappy man, will I accomplish and do for you. [Od.
11. 80]
114 PGM MU. 1-148
57. 2-4-3 How can you propose to render toil useless and ineffectual? [II. 4.
26]
58. 2-4-4 a thing delayed, late of fulfillment, whose fame will never perish. [II.
2. 325]
59. 2-4-5 Sooner would you grow weary and return to vour native land. [Od.
3. 117]
60. 2-4-6 to go, that he may bring poisonous drugs from there, [Od. 2. 329]
61. 2-5-1 Husband, you departed from life young, and me behind as a widow
[II. 24. 725]
62. 2-5-2 in which way I will for sure accomplish everything and how it will
be brought to pass, [II. 9. 310 (?)]
63. 2-5-3 Offer me not honey-tempered wine, honored mother, [II. 6. 264]
64. 2-5-4 ...
65. 2-5-5 .
66. 2-5-6 Do not orphan your son and make your wife a widow. [II. 6. 432 ]
67. 2-6- 1 would that they might now eat their last and final meal here. [Od. 4.
685]
68. 2-6-2 It is not meet for a man who speaks in the Council to sleep all the
night through, [II. 2. 24]
69. 2-6-3 What’s wrong with you, that you took this wrath into your heart?
[II. 6. 326]
70. 2-6-4 But who knows if he will one day return and punish them for their
violent deeds? [Od. 3. 216]
71. 2-6-5 wives I will provide for both and furnish possessions [Od. 21. 214]
72. 2-6-6 we may try die bow and complete the contest. [Od. 21. 180]
73. 3-1-1 For it’s no reproach to flee evil, nor by night. [II. 14. 80]
74. 3-1-2 Be mindful of every form of valor. Now you needs must [II. 22.
268]
75. 3-1-3 as a widow at home. And the boy is still just a baby, [II. 22. 484; cf.
24. 726]
76. 3-1-4 But do you in no wise enter the moil of Ares, [II. 18. 134]
77. 3-1-5 For amid misfortune mortals quickly grow old. [Od. 19. 360]
78. 3-1-6 ...
79. 3-2-1 .
80. 3-2-2 Such a man is not alive nor will be born, [Od. 6. 201]
81. 3-2-3 Of a truth, child, there’s nothing really wrong with this, [II. 18. 128]
82. 3-2-4 Now is it no longer possible for him to find escape from us, [II. 22.
219]
83. 3-2-5 we will ransom with bronze and gold, for it is within. [II. 22. 50]
84. 3-2-6 drink, and do not vie with younger men. [Od. 21. 310]
85. 3-3-1 where are you fleeing, turning your back like a craven in the ranks?
[II. 8. 94] '
86. 3-3-2 Would that such a man be called my husband [Od. 6. 244]
87. 3-3-3 plants her head in heaven and walks upon the earth. [II. 4. 443]
88. 3-3-4 But Zeus does not accomplish for men all their purposes. [II. 18.
328]
89. 3-3-5 and nodded for his army to survive and not to perish. [II. 8. 246]
90. 3-3-6 Would that you had not pled with the noble son of Peleus, [II. 9.
698]
91. 3-4-1 Honey-sweet wine has the best of you, which others also [Od. 21.
PGM VII. 1-148
115
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100 .
101 .
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110 .
111 .
112 .
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120 .
121 .
122 .
123.
124.
125.
293 ]
3-4-2 Act in whatever wav vour mind is moved, and no longer hold back.
[//. 22. 185]
3-4-3 For it is fated for both to turn the same ground red [II. 18. 329]
3-4-4 keep on shooting like this, if haply you may become a light to the
Danaans [II. 8. 282]
3-4-5 as there is no one who could keep the dogs off your head, [17. 22.
348 1
3-4-6 You will not kill me, since I am for sure not subject to Fate. [II. 22.
l3] .
3-5-1 staying right here vou would help me watch over this house [Od. 5.
208]
3-5-2 Get out of the gateway, old man, or it won’t be long before you’re
dragged out by the foot. [Od. 18. 10]
3-5-3 Better for a man to escape evil by flight than to be caught. [II. 14
81]
3-5-4 and declare to no one, neither man nor woman, [Od. 13. 308]
3-5-5 of wheat or barley. And the heaps fall thick and fast. [II. 11. 69]
3-5-6 Whatever sort of word you speak, such would you hear. [II. 20. 250]
3-6-1 was opposed to giving Helen to tawny Menelaos, [II. 11. 125]
3-6-2 or will you alter your purpose? The hearts of the good are flexible.
[//. 15. 203]
3-6-3 Yet 1 for one never doubted, but at heart [Od. 13. 339]
3-6-4 Eurymachos, it will not be so. And even you know it. [Od. 21. 257]
3-6-5 You miserable foreigner, you have no sense at all. [Od. 21. 288]
3- 6-6 And the father granted him one thing, but denied him the other. | II.
16. 250]
4- 1-1 Nay, go to your chambers and tend to your own work, [Od. 1. 356]
4-1-2 Now then, do not even tell this to your wife. [Od. 11. 224 (alternate
version)]
4- 1 -3 would you have been stoned to death for all the wrongs you’ve done.
[//. 3. 57]
4-1-4 you prayed to the immortals to see with a beard grown. [Od. 18.
176]
4-1-5 and vow to Lycian-born Apollo the famous archer [II. 4. 101]
4-1-6 and no spirit of harmony unites wolves and sheep, [II. 22. 263]
4-2-1 Come now, let us make these concessions to one another, [II. 4. 62]
4-2-2 And in the throng were Strife and Uproar, and Fatc-of-Death, [II.
18. 535]
4-2-3 .
4-2-4 Up, rush into battle, the man vou have always claimed to be. [II. 4.
264]
4-2-5 .
4-2-6 You baby, what use now to keep your bow idle? [II. 21. 474]
4-3-1 For even fair-tressed Niobe turned her mind to food, [II. 24. 602]
4-3-2 after giving a mass of bronze and gold and raiment [ Od. 5. 38]
4-3-3 Surely then the journey will not be useless or fail to occur. [Od. 2.
273]'
4-3-4 One omen is best, to defend your country. [II. 12. 243]
4-3-5 I will gild her horns all round and sacrifice her to you. [II. 10. 294]
116
PGM VII. 1-148
126. 4-3-6 and you would gain every Trojan’s thanks and praise, [II. 4. 95]
127. 4-4-1 put in with your ship, since women are no longer trustworthy. [Oci.
11. 456]
128. 4-4-2 It is not possible or proper to deny your request. [II. 14. 212]
129. 4-4-3 would straightway fit his will to your desire and mine. [17. 15. 52]
130. 4-4-4 and give him instruction. And it will be beneficial for him to obey.
[II. 11. 789]
131. 4-4-5 will give glorv to me, and your soul to horse-famed Hades. [17. 5.
654 f
132. 4-4-6 fill up his ship with gold and bronze aplenty, [II. 9. 137]
133. 4-5-1 but tell one part, and let the other be concealed. [Od. 11. 443]
134. 4-5-2 and at birth Zeus sends a weight of misery. [II. 10. 71]
135. 4-5-3 alone to have intelligence, but they are flitting shades. [Od. 10. 495]
136. 4-5-4 yielding to his indignation. But they now withheld from him the
gifts [II. 9. 598]
137. 4-5-5 I rejoice at hearing what you say, son of Laertes. [II. 19. 185]
138. 4-5-6 But Zeus causes men’s prowess to wax or to wane, [II. 20. 242]
139. 4-6-1 a terrible man. He would be quick to blame even the blameless. [II.
11. 654]
140. 4-6-2 with all haste. For now would you capture the broad-wayed city [II.
2 . 66 ]
141. 4-6-3 Endure now, my heart. An even greater outrage did you once en-
dure, [Od. 20. 18]
142. 4-6-4 You lunatic, sit still and listen to the word of others, [II. 2. 200]
143. 4-6-5 had cast aside wrath and chosen friendship. [II. 16. 282]
144. 4-6-6 so good it is for a son to be left by a dead [Od. 3. 196]
145. 5-1-1 Here then, spread under your chest a veil, [Od. 5. 346]
146. 5-1-2 ’Tis impiety to exult over men slain. [Od. 22. 412]
147. 5-1-3 through immortal night, when other mortals sleep? [II. 24. 363]
148. 5-1-4 How then could I forget divine Odysseus? [Od. 1. 65]
149. 5-1^5 lurid death and o’erpowering doom laid hold of [II. 5. 83]
150. 5-1-6 So there’s nothing else as horrible and vile as a woman [Od. 11. 427]
15 1. 5-2-1 Let us not advance to fight the Danaans around the ships. [II. 12.
216]
152. 5-2-2 to put up a defense, when some fellow provokes a fight. [II. 24. 369;
Od. 16. 72; 21. 133]
153. 5-2-3 nor do children at his knees call him “papa” [II. 5. 408]
154. 5-2-4 I am this very man, back home now. And after many toils [Od. 21.
207]
155. 5-2-5 Talk not like this. There’ll be no change before [II. 5. 218]
156. 5-2-6 let him stay here the while, even though he’s eager for Ares. [II. 19.
189]
157. 5-3-1 And do not, exulting in war and battle, [II. 16. 91]
158. 5-3-2 never to have gone to bed with her and had intercourse, [II. 9. 133;
19. 176]
159. 5-3-3 and moistens the lips, but fails to moisten the palate. [II. 22. 495]
160. 5-3-4 Take heart! Let these matters not trouble vour thoughts. [II. 18.
463]
161. 5-3-5 But this mad dog I’m unable to hit. [II. 8. 299]
162. 5-3-6 Keep quiet, friend, and do as I say. [27. 4. 412]
PGM VII. 1-148
117
163.
164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
171.
172.
173.
174.
175.
176.
177.
178.
179.
180.
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
186.
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
5-4- 1 Bad deeds don’t prosper. The slow man for sure overtakes the swift,
[ Od . 8. 329]
5-4-2 They shut fast and locked the doors of the hall. [ Od. 21. 236]
5-4-3 Ah, poor man! Death’s not at all on your mind, [II. 17. 201]
5-4-4 Odysseus has come and reached home, though he was long in com-
ing'. [Od. 23. 7]
5-4-5 in full he will accomplish it at last, and the penalty they pay is great,
[II. 4. 161]
5-4-6 and therein was Strife, and therein Valor, and therein chilling At-
tack, [II. 5. 740]
5-5-1 but ’tis most wretched to die and meet one’s doom by starvation.
[Od. 12. 342]
5-5-2 shall I be laid low' when I die. But good repute is now my goal, [II.
18. 121]
5-5-3 Up, rush into battle, the man you have always claimed to be. [II. 4.
264]
5-5-4 In no way do I mock you, dear child, nor am I playing tricks. [Od.
23.26]
5-5-5 but she stayed Alkmene’s labor and stopped her from giving birth.
[II. 19. 119]
5-5-6 But come, and hereafter I shall make amends for this, if now any-
thing wrong [II. 4. 362]
5-6-1 Where are you two rushing? What causes the heart within your
breast to rage? [II. 8. 413]
5-6-2 Pray now, let him not be too much on your mind. [Od. 13. 421]
5-6-3 But the gods do not, I ween, give men all diings at the same time.
[II. 4. 320]
5-6-4 Talk not like this. There’ll be no change before [II. 5. 218]
5-6-5 So he spake, but did not move the mind of Zeus by saying this. [II.
12. 173]
5- 6-6 but Odysseus nodded no and checked him in his eagerness. [Od. 21.
129]
6- 1-1 How can you want to go alone to the ships of the Achaians? [II. 24.
203]
6-1-2 him a bridegroom in his house, who left as only child a daughter
[Od. 7. 65]"
6-1-3 And too. I’ve taken the mist from your eyes, which before was there,
[II. 5. 127]
6-1-4 we may try the bow and complete the contest. [Od. 21. 180]
6-1-5 And I know that my arrival was longed for by you two [Od. 21.
209]
6-1-6 I shall dress him in a mandc and a tunic, fine garments. [Od. 16. 79;
17. 550; 21. 339]
6-2-1 by fastening a noose sheer from a high rafter, [Od. 11. 278]
6-2-2 remembering our excellence, of the sort that even we [Od. 8. 244]
6-2-3 the sea’s great expanse dtey cross, since this is the Earthshaker’s gift
to them. [Od. 7. 35]
6-2-4 Nay, come on with the bow. You’ll soon be sorry for obeying every-
body. [Od. 21. 369]
6-2-5 But hurry into battle, and rouse the other soldiers. [//. 19. 139]
118
PGM VII. 1-148
192. 6-2-6
193. 6-3-1
194. 6-3-2
195. 6-3-3
196. 6-3-4
197. 6-3-5
198. 6-3-6
199. 6-4-1
200. 6-4-2
201. 6-4-3
202. 6-4-4
203. 6-4-5
204. 6-4-6
205. 6-5-1
206. 6-5-2
207. 6-5-3
208. 6-5-4
209. 6-5-5
210. 6-5-6
211. 6r 6- 1
212 . 6 - 6-2
213. 6-6-3
214. 6-6-4
215. 6-6-5
216. 6-6-6
For mighty Herakies, not even he escaped his doom, [II. 18. 117]
amends I wish to make and to give a boundless ransom. [II. 9. 120;
19. 138]
And let him stand up among the Argivcs and swear an oath to you
[II. 19. 175]
The man is nearby. Our search will not be long, if vou are willing [//.
14. 110]
and not quite suddenly, and a very god should be die cause? [ Od.
21. 196]
Verily, diese things have already happened, and not otherwise could
[II 14. 53]
On now, follow close! In action numbers make a difference. [II. 12.
412]
surely then the gods themselves have ruined your mind. [II. 7. 360;
12. 234]
Take heart, and let your thoughts not be of death. [II. 10. 383]
bv her wailing she rouse from sleep her household servants, [11. 5.
413]
Come now in strict silence, and I shall lead the way, [Od. 7. 30]
are there ears for hearing, and sense and respect are dead. [11. 15.
129]
as he was growing old. But the son did not grow old in his father’s
armor. [II. 17. 197]
to return home and behold the day of homecoming. [Od. 5. 220;
8.466]
Apollo of the silver bow did strike the one, still sonless, [Od. 7. 64]
then you may hope to see your loved ones and reach [Od. 7. 76]
As for you two, I will tell you exaedy how it will be. [Od. 21. 212]
For so shall I proclaim, and it will be accomplished too. [II. 1. 212]
and I shall send him wherever his heart and spirit urge him. [Od. 16.
81; 21. 342],
idiot? You’ll soon pay when the swift hounds devour you [Od. 21.
363]
You would learn what mighty hands I have to back me up. [Od. 20.
237; 21. 202]
In no wise do I think he will in that event take you for himself, nor is
it proper. [Od. 21. 322]
here we gather, waiting day after day. [Od. 21. 156]
to reach decision making secret plans. Nor vet now to me [II. 1.
542]
Don’t dare get it into your mind to escape from me, Dolon. [II. 10.
447]
Here end the verses of the Homer oracle. May it help you!
i: Tr.: Hubert Martin, Jr. The so-called Homer oracle, a list of 216 isolated and disconnected
Homeric verses, is in fact a manual designed to provide the reader with an oracular response
to a personal inquiry. Concerned with matters of daily life such as we find in our newspaper
horoscopes, the inquirer rolls three dice or knucklebones, each of which has its six surfaces
numbered from one to six and is used to select a number from one of the three vertical
number columns to the left of the Homeric verses (in each column, there are only six num-
bers to select from, though each occurs thirty-six times); one die thrown three times would
achieve tire same purpose. The three numbers selected by this process establish a horizontal
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